This book defines the terminology used in the fields of sensation and perception and describes the biological and physical bases required for understanding sensory experiences. It offers more specifically an introduction to the study of psychophysics, auditory perception, visual perception, somesthesia, time perception, and attention, and discusses the basic concepts and mechanisms used to interpret different perceptual phenomena.

Featured topics in this book:

• Laws of psychophysics, including the discrimination law of Weber and Stevens’ power law.


• Psychophysical methods and signal detection theory.


• Hearing music and speech.


• Color, form and depth perception.


• Time perception.


• Somatosensory systems.


• The role of attention in perception.


• Sensory disorders.