Premium
Exploratory Study of the Influence of the Sensory Channel in Perception of Environments
Author(s) -
AlcántaraAlcover Enrique,
ArtachoRamírez Miguel Ángel,
ZamoraÁlvarez Tomás,
Martinez Natividad
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
journal of sensory studies
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.61
H-Index - 53
eISSN - 1745-459X
pISSN - 0887-8250
DOI - 10.1111/joss.12099
Subject(s) - perception , meaning (existential) , dimension (graph theory) , cognitive psychology , sensory system , semantic differential , psychology , computer science , exploratory research , human–computer interaction , cognitive science , mathematics , social psychology , sociology , neuroscience , anthropology , pure mathematics , psychotherapist
Interest in the multisensory perception of products is growing in different realms of science and industry. This paper applies differential semantics to investigate the influence of sensory channels on the semantic structure of perception. The study consists of four experiments in which volunteers report their perception of a sample of visual, acoustic, olfactory and tactile stimuli. The semantic space for each sense is obtained and differences in structure and meaning are analyzed. The results show that the concepts that people use to express perception depend on the sense used. Some concepts appear for one sense only, while other concepts are stimulated through more than one sense, although the meaning is not always the same. The semantic structure shows that the main source of variability in perception using the four senses studied is due to the emotional dimension followed by symbolic value for vision, hearing and smell – and by sensorial attributes for touch. Practical Applications The results of this work may be useful for researchers and practitioners in the realms of sensorial sciences, sensorial design and sensorial marketing. The multisensory perceptual map produced can help designers and marketers in the design of products and services. Designers could proceed by first selecting the concepts to transmit and then follow an iterative process with three steps: (1) Choose the order in which senses interact with products. (2) Stimulate the senses that dominate in the perception of the concepts chosen. (3) Assess the congruence of meanings.Researchers can use the semantic for each sense as the basis for more complex studies. There are few independent concepts for assessing stimulus perception by each sense. This type of study enables experiments to be conducted in which people can evaluate a greater number of stimuli within the time period of a normal experimental session.