Foundations of Sensation and Perception

Foundations of Sensation and Perception offers a comprehensive and accessible introduction to the science of sensation and perception. It covers all the human senses and answers many questions, such as why movies are so convincing, how ventriloquism works, why things sound different as you get older and why you may feel ill in an aircraft or sea vessel.

Full of illustrations and graphs that bring concepts to life, the textbook covers vision, hearing, balance, touch, pain, smell and taste. It discusses each sensory system through its fundamental neuroscience, major perceptual qualities and underlying coding principles. Each chapter includes reflective questions, key terms and information boxes and chapter summaries. Each chapter ends with a tutorial section which introduces more advanced areas of study in an accessible way (including measurement of light and Fourier analysis) as well as topics outside of the mainstream of sensation (including music perception, colour deficiencies and phantom limbs).

The fourth edition of this bestselling textbook includes an extensive update of the text to reflect the latest research, a greater focus on balance and the body senses and a major reorganisation of the chapters for ease of use. It will be an invaluable resource for a wide range of undergraduate students in psychology, neuroscience and related disciplines.

George Mather is Professor of Vision Science at the University of Lincoln, UK. He has published over 80 research papers and 5 books. His main research interests are in motion perception, visual after-effects and the perception of visual art.