Perceptual Learning (030111-WiSe22/23)

Recent studies in philosophy and psychology suggest that our perceptual capacities and experiences are not biologically fixed but can, to some extent, be modified through training and other factors. Typically, perceptual learning is defined as an acquired long-lasting capacity to differentiate or discriminate among similar stimuli, unitize or “chunk” different elements into a single unit, or attentional tuning. This interesting phenomenon raises, however, a number of questions: Are the changes genuinely perceptual or rather cognitive? What is the role of attention in perceptual learning? How should we interpret perceptual learning in relation to the perception/cognition divide? Instances of perceptual learning are usually considered as positive acquisitions that lead to better task-performances, but can perceptual learning also have negative side-effects? With the aid of some key texts in philosophy and psychology, we will discuss different aspects of perceptual learning.

Learning material will be made available on Moodle by the course instructor.

By way of introduction, I recommend:
Adrienne Prettyman (2019) “Perceptual Learning” WIREs Cognitive Science 10, e1489. https://doi.org/10.1002/wcs.1489.