Other Senses Part 2: Smell and Taste• Learning Goals:

– Students should be able to answer the following:

1. How do we experience taste?

2. How do we experience smell?

1

Rating Student Evidence

4.0 Expert

I can teach someone else about the experience of taste and smell. In addition to 3.0 , I can demonstrate applications and inferences beyond what was taught

3.0Proficient

I can analyze and compare/contrast the Aspects of the the experience of taste and smell.

2.0 Developing

I can identify terms associated the experience of taste and smell but need to review this concept more.

1.0Beginning

I don’t understand this concept and need help!

Crash Course: Homunculus

Taste/Smell

The EarSound

Depth cuesGestaltPerceptionMovementTouch/Pain

SeeingThe EyeLightIgnoring CNS

Illusions

Taste as a chemical sense

• Basic Chemical Tastes

– Also known as gustatory sense

– Sweet, Sour, Bitter, Salty, Umami

– Taste may be based on survival (bitter food

is toxic)

– Taste receptors reproduce themselves every

two weeks

– Taste buds and taste sensitivity decreases

with age

3

Sweet Sour Salty Bitter Umami

(Fresh

Chicken)

Taste/Smell

The EarSound

Depth cuesGestaltPerceptionMovementTouch/Pain

SeeingThe EyeLightIgnoring CNS

Illusions

Evolutionary Perspective on Taste

Taste/Smell

The EarSound

Depth cuesGestaltPerceptionMovementTouch/Pain

SeeingThe EyeLightIgnoring CNS

Illusions

Smell as a Chemical Sense

• Chemical Sense or Olfactory Sense• Smell involves the detection of molecules• Scents play an important role in

attachment

• Smell & Memory• Because smell runs close to the limbic

system, it ties closely to memory pathways• We have a hard time describing a smell,

but can relate to personal stories

• Herz’s Brown University Study1. Students played an impossible game in a

scented room2. The same students were then given a

complex (not impossible task)3. The same scent was pumped into the

experimental room and the students gave up easily

5

Taste/Smell

The EarSound

Depth cuesGestaltPerceptionMovementTouch/Pain

SeeingThe EyeLightIgnoring CNS

Illusions

Smell (olfaction)

Taste/Smell

The EarSound

Depth cuesGestaltPerceptionMovementTouch/Pain

SeeingThe EyeLightIgnoring CNS

Illusions

Smell: Age & Gender

• Ability to identify smell peaks during

early adulthood, but steadily declines

after that. Women are better at

detecting odors than men

7

Taste/Smell

The EarSound

Depth cuesGestaltPerceptionMovementTouch/Pain

SeeingThe EyeLightIgnoring CNS

Illusions

Sensory Interaction

•Sensory Interaction• Smell + Texture + Taste =

Flavor

•Visual Capture• Vision dominates all senses

when conflicts appear

•McGurk Effect• Hear one syllable while

seeing another lipped causes us to interpret a third

•Synesthesia• Rare disorder in which

people combine senses

8

Taste/Smell

The EarSound

Depth cuesGestaltPerceptionMovementTouch/Pain

SeeingThe EyeLightIgnoring CNS

Illusions

Taste/Smell

The EarSound

Depth cuesGestaltPerceptionMovementTouch/Pain

SeeingThe EyeLightIgnoring CNS

Illusions

Synesthesia

Taste/Smell

The EarSound

Depth cuesGestaltPerceptionMovementTouch/Pain

SeeingThe EyeLightIgnoring CNS

Illusions

Synesthesia

Learning Goal:1. How do we experience taste?

2. How do we experience smell?

12

Rating Student Evidence

4.0 Expert

I can teach someone else about the experience of taste and smell. In addition to 3.0 , I can demonstrate applications and inferences beyond what was taught

3.0Proficient

I can analyze and compare/contrast the Aspects of the the experience of taste and smell.

2.0 Developing

I can identify terms associated the experience of taste and smell but need to review this concept more.

1.0Beginning

I don’t understand this concept and need help!