Psychology of Perception
Psychology 4165-581 Online
Spring 2016
Lewis O. Harvey, Jr.–Instructor
Steven M. Parker–Teaching Assistant
Lab 2 Laboratory Report – 40 Points
Introduction Section
1.
In prose, describe the general nonlinear relationship between stimulus
intensity and sensation magnitude1.
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2.
Cite a few common/everyday examples of this relationship.
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3.
Briefly summarize the historical roots of psychophysicists attempting
to understand this relationship.
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4.
Cite 2 prior studies that, to your mind, typify how this relationship can
be investigated2
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5.
Combine the information from Steps 1-4 into a single paragraph.
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6.
Write a brief Introduction Section, in which you:
 Describe a perceptual phenomenon using prior research literature.
(Combine your responses in Boxes 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, & 1.4)
 Identify a “Gap”; formulate a problem statement. 
3. Formulate a purpose statement to address the problem statement.
4. Formulate a clear, testable/falsifiable hypothesis. (REMEMBER: 2
hypotheses! Model fit & effect of waveform complexity on loudness
judgment.
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For some background information, I highly recommend Zwislocki (2009). It’s long,
and in parts it is very dense. I’d focus on sections 1.1 Definitions & Genesis (pg. 1) and
1.5 Relevant Theory of Measurement (pg. 47)
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Page 1 of 7
14 February 2016
Psychology of Perception
Psychology 4165-581 Online
Spring 2016
Lewis O. Harvey, Jr.–Instructor
Steven M. Parker–Teaching Assistant
Page 2 of 7
14 February 2016
Psychology of Perception
Psychology 4165-581 Online
Spring 2016
Lewis O. Harvey, Jr.–Instructor
Steven M. Parker–Teaching Assistant
Method Section
Elements of a Method section:
Description of Experimental design:
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Is this experiment within-subjects, between-subjects, or mixed?
How many phases were there in this experiment? What were they?
What were the independent variable(s)?
What was the dependent variable?
What was the judgment that subjects were asked to make?
Description of Materials & Apparatus:
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How did subjects take this experiment? (HINT: be captain obvious)
What software was used to administer this experiment? This should include
the software name, version number, and a citation of the author (HINT:
http://www.psychopy.org/about/index.html - citingpsychopy)
What were the stimuli for the experiment? What parameters describe these
stimuli? (position, color, size, etc.)
Description of Task Procedure:
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How long did the entire experiment take to complete (ballpark figure)?
Describe what happened during the learning phase and test phase. (e.g., how
long were pictures shown during learning phase, etc.)
What were instructions to the subjects?
In a single trial, what did subjects DO to respond after they were shown a
stimulus?
Description of Participants:
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How many subjects were tested? (N=?)
Describe the subjects (age, gender, hearing, … other relevant details)
How were subjects recruited?
In prose, write a paragraph that describes the method of this
experiment.
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Page 3 of 7
14 February 2016
Psychology of Perception
Psychology 4165-581 Online
Spring 2016
Lewis O. Harvey, Jr.–Instructor
Steven M. Parker–Teaching Assistant
Results Section
Statistical data analysis can be thought of having 3 levels: (a) Individual data
analysis, (b) group/sample data analysis, (c) and inferential statistical analysis. Below is a
step-by-step guide on how to analyze our data and form conclusions based on those
results.
Individual Data Analysis
Contents of an Individual Results Section:
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Description of Measurement variables (R2, b2).
Result of “Model” hypothesis (MUST include relevant statistics!)
Result of “Complexity” hypothesis (MUST include relevant statistics!)
Relevant plot of your individual results, but you must include a discussion of
the plot!
In prose, write a paragraph that reports your individual results for this
experiment.
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Group Data Analysis
Contents of an Individual Results Section:
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Results of “Model” hypothesis (summary statistics & inferential statistical
test)
Results of “Complexity” hypothesis (summary statistics & inferential
statistical test)
Relevant plot(s) of the group results, but you must include a discussion of the
plot!
In prose, write a paragraph that reports your group results for the
“MODEL” hypothesis.
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
In prose, write a paragraph that reports your group results for the
“COMPLEXITY” hypothesis.
Page 4 of 7
14 February 2016
Psychology of Perception
Psychology 4165-581 Online
Spring 2016
Lewis O. Harvey, Jr.–Instructor
Steven M. Parker–Teaching Assistant
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Page 5 of 7
14 February 2016
Psychology of Perception
Psychology 4165-581 Online
Spring 2016
Lewis O. Harvey, Jr.–Instructor
Steven M. Parker–Teaching Assistant
Discussion Section
The goal of a discussion section is to summarize your experiment and explain to the
reader what your results mean. When writing discussion sections it often feels like you
are presenting a lot of redundant information, but very often readers are overwhelmed
with information by the time they get to the discussion section, and have more than likely
forgotten the important contextual information from the introduction.
11.
Restate the purpose of the experiment.
1. This reminds the reader what the whole experimental endeavor was about.
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12.
Restate the hypothesis/expected results.
1. Restating the hypothesis/expected results serves a similar function to the
reader.
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13.
Explicitly state your findings in prose.
1. Remember: Findings are what the researcher concludes after a logical
examination of the results. Do not report any new results (numbers), just
explain what the numbers mean.
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14.
Explicitly compare/contrast your findings to the prior literature (discussed in
your literature review).
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15.
Discuss any unexpected results.
1. If warranted, this section is very helpful to the reader, especially when
proposing followup experiments. But, keep in mind that the “unexpected
results” should probably be connected with your original hypothesis
somehow.
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16.
Discuss methodological limitations in the present study
1. This should be an honest critique of the methods used, but don’t go crazy
here. Remember the old adage, “It’s easy to criticize.” Every experiment
has limitations, but smart researchers limit their criticisms to aspects of
the study that might have changed the finding of the study.
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Page 6 of 7
14 February 2016
Psychology of Perception
Psychology 4165-581 Online
Spring 2016
Lewis O. Harvey, Jr.–Instructor
Steven M. Parker–Teaching Assistant
17.
Discuss practical implications of your findings
1. Finish with what your finding means in the real world It’s helpful to think
of this as making recommendations for some kind of real-world task or
problem. These sections are patently speculative, so authors are often
afforded a wide latitude in this regard.
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18.
Combine the information from Steps 11-17 into a Disuccsion section below:
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14 February 2016