The NOBA Project is a growing collection of expert-authored, open-licensed modules in psychology, funded by the Diener Education Fund. From these open modules, Tori Kearns and Deborah Lee created an arranged open textbook for her introductory psychology class. This textbook was created under a Round One ALG Textbook Transformation Grant.

The Introduction to Psychology course was developed through the Ohio Department of Higher Education OER Innovation Grant. This work was completed and the course was posted in September 2018. The course is part of the Ohio Transfer Module and is also named OSS015. For more information about credit transfer between Ohio colleges and universities please visit: www.ohiohighered.org/transfer.Team LeadVincent Granito                                    Lorain County Community CollegeContent ContributorsNicole Brandt                                       Columbus State Community CollegeLynne Gabriel                                      Lakeland Community CollegeJackie Sample                                     Central Ohio Technical CollegeLibrarianRachel Dilley                                       Columbus State Community CollegeReview TeamMelissa Beers                                      Ohio State UniversityBryan Gerber                                        Stark State College

How to Use this GuideThis guide provides information and resources on teaching sensation concepts in an Introduction to Psychology course. All resources are Open Access and can be downloaded or added to a Course Management System (LMS) via the hyperlinks.According to the TAG, Sensation falls within Pillar 1 (Biological) and is an optional topic for Ohio Introduction to Psychology courses, along with the required topic of  Biology of Behavior. Perception falls under Pillar 2 (Cognitive), and is an optional topic for Ohio Introduction to Psychology courses, along with the required topic of Memory.  Together, these topics meet the APA recommendations for Strengthening General Psychology (Gurung, et al., 2016).IntroductionThis section introduces students to the basic processes of sensation and perception.

By the end of this section, you will be able to do the following:

Identify the general and special senses in humans
Describe three important steps in sensory perception
Explain the concept of just-noticeable difference in sensory perception

By the end of this section, you will be able to:

Distinguish between sensation and perception
Describe the concepts of absolute threshold and difference threshold
Discuss the roles attention, motivation, and sensory adaptation play in perception

The first chapter provides an overview of the textbook and reviews the history of psychology and its methodology. Psychology is described as a science studying how hereditary (nature) and experiential (nurture) variables interact to influence the thoughts, feelings, and behavior of individuals. The remainder of the text will be organized in sections entitled “Mostly Nature” (Biological Psychology; Sensation & Perception; Motivation & Emotion), “Mostly Nurture” (Direct Learning; Indirect Learning (i.e., observational learning and language); Cognition), and “Nature/Nurture” (Human Development; Personality; Social Psychology; Maladaptive Behavior; Professional Psychology and Human Potential).