The Invisible Gorilla Book Assignment- 240 Points
Over the course of the next few months, you will be asked to read the book The Invisible Gorilla by
Christopher Chabris and Daniel Simons. This book examines six “illusions” of our perception that tends
to plague us on a regular basis. As we have discussed in class when examining memory and perception,
our mind is not exactly the steel trap that we like to make it out to be. I feel that you will enjoy this
book very thoroughly and I hope that you will begin to examine your own thoughts and things around
you a bit more closely.
Assignment
You task is to completely read this book. It is a fairly easy read, but if you find anything that is confusing
then feel free to ask questions via e-mail.
Part One: After you read the entire book, which is made up of six chapters, you will write a two page
(maximum) summary for each chapter. Within that summary you will discuss the chapter and your own
thoughts on the topic or idea. While the authors give a lot of information in each chapter, it is your job
to be concise and precise when giving your summary. Be sure to discuss research that backs his
concepts and ideas as well, as otherwise the information would be useless. Also, you will need to
include your own opinion and examples from your own life that would compliment or disregard each
chapter. Again, a maximum of two pages per chapter. These will be graded based on your
demonstration to summarize the chapter and to compare it to your own life. (20 Points per summary)
Part Two: This book examines a lot of research that has been completed in the field of psychology and
examines real world examples to support the information. For part two of this assignment, you are to
partner up with someone in this class. With a partner, you are to create a visual display that examines
six studies found within the book, one per chapter, and link those to real life examples found in the
media or news. You will need to discuss the study, which you may want to do further research on via
the internet, and how that applies to that study. Your visual display can be a movie, a poster, a news
cast, etc. You will be graded based on applying specific studies to real-life examples. Also, creativity will
play a factor in grading. (120 points)
Due Dates:


Summaries: April 9th, 2013 (Tuesday back from Spring Break!) --- 120 Points
Visual Display: Starting April 15th, 2013---120 Points
Please Note: These assignments will not be accepted late. They must be turned in (handed) to me in
class on said due dates. If we are not in school on the due dates because of weather, then they are
to be turned in on the next day we are in class.