Course title: The role of visual illusions in Perception Theory
Name of lecturer: Elias Economou
Course code: PSY 3104
Type of course: Elective Seminar
Level of course: Advanced
Year of study: 3rd or 4th
Semester: 6th or 8th
Number of credits: 6
Objectives of the course (preferably expressed in terms of learning outcomes and competences):
The aim of the seminar is to help students understand the relationship between research on visual
illusions and its impact on current theories of Visual Perception. Students that successfully complete the
seminar are trained to recognize components of dominant visual perception theories that produce
specific hypotheses tested on certain visual illusions. One of the main concepts emphasized, is that visual
illusions are not a mere by-product of normal viewing but instead a key component of the human visual
system. Students are also trained on presenting a research paper in a format most commonly used in
international perception conferences.
Prerequisites: Cognitive Psychology II (Visual Perception)
Course contents:
 Lightness Perception
 Color Perception
 Size/distance Perception
 Visual recognition
 Motion Perception
 Cross-modal perceptual phenomena
Recommended reading:
 Arnheim, R. (1999, transl). Art and Visual Perception. The psychology of creative vision. Athens:
Themelio publishing.
 Gibson, J.J. (2002, transl). The ecological approach in visual perception. Athens: Gutenberg
publishing
Teaching methods:
Lectures, presentations, videos
Assessment methods: 10’ presentation of a research paper, final take-home exam, short comments on
each of the papers presented in each seminar are sent to the lecturer before the seminar and are
discussed in class, level of participation in the discussion of papers.
Language of instruction: Greek