title: The perception of materials through oral sensation.
abstract: This paper presents the results of a multimodal study of oral perception conducted with a set of material samples made from metals, polymers and woods, in which both the somatosensory and taste factors were examined. A multidimensional scaling analysis coupled with subjective attribute ratings was performed to assess these factors both qualitatively and quantitatively. The perceptual somatosensory factors of warmth, hardness and roughness dominated over the basic taste factors, and roughness was observed to be a less significant sensation compared to touch-only experiments. The perceptual somatosensory ratings were compared directly with physical property data in order to assess the correlation between the perceived properties and measured physical properties. In each case, a strong correlation was observed, suggesting that physical properties may be useful in industrial design for predicting oral perception.
authors.affiliation: Materials Department, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Philip D
authors.initials: PD
authors.lastname: Howes
authors.affiliation: Physics Department, King's College London, London, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Supinya
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wongsriruksa
authors.affiliation: Institute of Making, University College London, London, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Zoe
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Laughlin
authors.affiliation: Brighton and Sussex Medical School, University of Sussex Campus, Brighton, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Harry J
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Witchel
authors.affiliation: Institute of Making, University College London, London, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Miodownik
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003300:Copper / Q000737:chemistry; D005260:Female; D005898:Glass / Q000737:chemistry; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009055:Mouth / Q000502:physiology*; D011137:Polystyrenes / Q000737:chemistry; D012828:Silicones / Q000737:chemistry; D013193:Stainless Steel / Q000737:chemistry; D013499:Surface Properties; D013649:Taste; D014110:Touch; D055698:Touch Perception; D014934:Wood / Q000737:chemistry; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D011137:Polystyrenes; D012828:Silicones; D013193:Stainless Steel; D003300:Copper