Outline and critically discuss the various theories and evidence concerning one of the following:

a) the Müller-Lyer illusion; b) the Ames room; c) the horizontal-vertical illusion; d) the cafe wall illusion; e) the moon illusion; f) impossible objects such as 'the devil's trident' and the Penrose triangle; OR g) anomalous motion illusions.

Guidance

For general guidance about what is expected in your essays for this module, see the general criteria.

What Key Features Do I Look For? Familiarity with relevant texts Evidence - the stronger the better Argument - coherent and balanced Theoretical discussion - relation to relevant theories Understanding of relevant concepts Reflexivity - reflections on methodology Examples - insightfully analysed Style - readability and effective presentation

Please remember to avoid footnotes and to include an alphabetical list of 'References' which have been cited in the text (not a Bibliography of anything you have read for the essay). This list should include author's names, date, book titles (in italics), place of publication and publisher. Within the text always cite author's surname, date and page number. Double-space your text and number your pages. For more detailed notes on writing essays in this department, click here.

Advice for this particular assignment: Don't forget to indicate in your title which one of these phenomena you are discussing. Show your initiative in finding the best possible illustrations of the one you have chosen. However, be sure to offer various credible explanations for the phenomenon: do not simply describe and illustrate it. To be sure that you understand the issues as well as you possibly can, consult several standard academic psychology textbooks (at least six) for this question - note both the similarities and the differences between the way different psychologists treat the topic. Although most general psychology textbooks are likely to have a chapter on perception you need at least the greater depth of books specifically on the psychology of perception. Note that a good essay will involve consulting more specialist texts on the topic rather than just textbooks and popular commentaries. You are welcome to use the internet as one source of both ideas and images (with proper acknowledgment) but do not rely on such sources unless their academic credibility is well-established. Similarly, you should read my lecture notes and Powerpoint slides and may borrow visual material from these, but do not regard these as primary sources of evidence. On the other hand, you are expected to demonstrate understanding of principles introduced in lectures and to work within the framework (and with the concepts) offered in the lectures: your main aim is not to set out to introduce new frameworks and concepts but to locate and summarise relevant evidence from the best sources you can find. Nevertheless, the best work will also involve careful 'mapping out' of various theories and the comparison and contrast of these, together with the kinds of evidence offered. Do not waste space on sweeping generalisations about perception or you will lose marks. I strongly suggest that you avoid philosophical books on perception - they are likely to confuse you. Your conclusion should include a discussion of what we can learn about perception from such perceptual illusions.

Note also that this is an assignment for which the inclusion of relevant pictorial illustrations is essential. These should be inserted electronically into your Word document rather than cut-and-pasted in. You can scan such illustrations in from print sources, save them from disk-based sources, download them from online sources (such as my Powerpoint slides) or even create them from scratch in a graphics package. Use them to help you to make points more effectively. Label each one, 'Figure 1' etc. and add a caption.

Some suggested reading

• Bruce, Vicki & Patrick R. Green (1990) Visual Perception. Hove: Erlbaum
  
• Coren, Stanley & Joan Stern Girgus (1978) Seeing is Deceiving: The Psychology of Visual Illusions. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum
• Coren, Stanley, Lawrence M. Ward & James T. Emms (1994) Sensation and Perception. Fort Worth, TX: Harcourt Brace
  
• Dember, William N. & Joel S. Warm (1979) The Psychology of Perception, 2nd edn. New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston
  
• Deregowski, J B (1980) Illusions, Patterns and Pictures: A Cross-Cultural Perspective. London: Academic Press
• Fineman, Mark (1981) The Nature of Visual Illusion. New York: Dover
• Frisby, John P. (1979) Seeing: Illusion, Brain and Mind. Oxford: Oxford University Press
• Gregory, Richard L. (1970) The Intelligent Eye. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson
  
• Gregory, Richard L. (1972) Eye and Brain. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson
  
• Gregory, Richard L. (1974) Concepts and Mechanisms of Perception. London: Duckworth
  
• Hochberg, Julian E. (1964) Perception. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall
  
• Luckiesh, M. (1965) Visual Illusions: Their Causes, Characteristics & Applications. New York: Dover
• Robinson, J.O. (1972) The Psychology of Visual Illusion. London: Hutchinson
• Rock, Irvin (1975) An Introduction to Perception. New York: Macmillan
• Rock, Irvin (1984) Perception. New York: Scientific American
  
• Segall, Marshall H, Donald T Campbell & Melville J. Herskovits (1966) The Influence of Culture on Visual Perception. Indianopolis: Bobbs-Merrill
• Sekuler, Robert & Randolph Blake (1994) Perception (3rd Edn.) New York: McGraw-Hill
  
• Vernon, M. D. (1971) The Psychology of Perception. Harmondsworth: Penguin
  
• Wade, Nicholas J. & Michael T. Swanson (2001) Visual Perception: An Introduction (2nd Edn.). Hove: Psychology Press

  Note: See also chapters related to perception in general textbooks on psychology.