Not only does this activity encourage students to think analytically and write in the manner of a perceptionist, but it also exposes them to the many levels of analysis employed in explaining perceptual phenomena. The weekly writings, as miniature versions of a research report, provide successive practice and a gradual building of confidence. The demonstrations also allow students to experience the phenomena first hand. It teaches them the analytic process, terminology, and concepts necessary to perceptionists. After students read the study, they are first required to write a short paper in which they briefly summarize and critique this study, then provide the thesis statement of their analysis.
Students briefly explain the problem they plan to explore.
Within that framework, students then evaluatively analyze the data and conclusions from the case history. Students summarize their main points, state their conclusions, and explain how the conclusions are significant in human understanding of perceptual abilities. A total of four drafts are submitted for writing-group and instructor feedback. The initial abstract will help focus and direct students' ideas. Drafting and developing the longer analysis immerses students in the subject and study of sensory processes, allowing them to explore perceptual phenomena in depth, to extensively read professional psychology articles, to develop and apply their analytic skills in the field of perceptual analysis, and to express their ideas in the professional vernacular of the field.