Part I.Theoretical frameworks and some empirical results

Chapter 1.The five senses and the cognitivist approach to perception23

1.1The five senses: Tradition, evidence and mainstream23

1.1.1The (Western) philosophical tradition25

1.1.2The five senses from some psychology handbooks27

1.2Technology of sensors and psychology29

1.2.1Instruments for measuring the physical world30

1.2.2Instruments and psychophysics32

1.3The digital revolution: Computers and cognitive science33

1.3.1The emergence of a cyberworld33

1.3.2Psychology and cognitive science34

1.4Main concepts at work in cognitive science37

1.4.1Information and information processing38

1.4.2Representation and knowledge39

1.4.3The classificatory tradition and “natural” categories40

History: The classificatory tradition41

“Natural” categories in cognitive psychology41

1.5Sensory science and product experience43

1.5.1Humans as instruments in sensory science43

1.5.2Descriptors for product experience45

1.6Language and the senses47

1.6.1Language and cognitive science: Words and things47

1.6.2The semiotic triad48

1.6.3Language and thought in cognitive linguistics50

1.6.4Word games in wording the senses51

The word “sense”51

Naming the five senses51

1.7Back to psychology: A no man’s land in cognitive science53

1.8Structure of the book55

References60

Chapter 2.Visual experience of the road for safe driving67

2.1Fundamental issues from behind the curtain68

2.1.1Institutional and funding aspects of a call for proposals68

2.1.2Rephrasing the question: Cooperation of knowledge domains69

2.1.3The perspective of cognitive psychology70

2.1.4Identifying categories of roads: Concepts and methods71

2.1.4.1From natural categories to categories for roads71

2.1.4.2The lexicon: From text units to road sections as stimuli73

2.1.4.3From reading to driving: Designing adequate procedures74

2.2Case studies: Re-presentations of roads for driving75

2.2.1Visual perception and representations for action75

2.2.1.1Material and stimuli set75

2.2.1.2Procedure75

2.2.1.3Participants76

2.2.1.4Results76

Conclusions and further developments

2.2.2Photos vs. drawings: Re-presentations of roads82

2.2.2.1Experiment 2A82

2.2.2.2Experiment 2B84

2.2.3Stimuli properties and participants’ previous knowledge86

2.3Looking backwards from 20 years distance: Dead-ends and blooming springs88

2.3.1Some methodological issues88

2.3.2Beyond Rosch: Natural vs. action-centered and situated categories90

2.3.3Knowledge and representations: Affordances and Umwelt90

2.3.4Meaning, Symbolic Systems, Languages, and experiential knowledge91

References93

Chapter 3.Experiencing and talking about colors97

3.1Colors in the world and color in science97

3.1.1Color and colors in history and physics99

3.1.1.1From colors as pigments for painting to color as light99

3.1.1.2Materiality and immateriality of color: Technology and color knowledge101

3.1.2The recent heritage from cognitive science103

3.1.2.1Color naming and categorization: Linguistic anthropology meets cognitive science103

3.1.2.2Reconsidering Berlin and Kay’s paradigm105

3.2Case studies: Color experiences and naming in practices108

3.2.1Color charts and color words in commercial practices109

3.2.1.1Watercolor, oil and decoration: Artistic vs decorative paint charts110

3.2.1.2Color charts for cosmetics: Hair dyeing, lipsticks and nail polish111

3.2.1.3Color chips in charts for car paints112

3.2.1.4Conclusion112

3.2.2Color naming strategies in Palikur113

3.2.2.1Basic color terms in Palikur?114

3.2.2.2No name for “color”114

3.2.2.3Identification of various color naming strategies116

3.2.2.4Discussion and conclusions119

3.2.3Representations of colors and car industry demands122

3.2.3.1From an industrial demand to research questions122

3.2.3.2Colors in the real world and in artificial reality123

3.3Color(s): A diversity of semiotic statuses127

3.3.1Colors as matters127

3.3.2Colors as properties128

3.3.3Colors of things: Essence vs. appearance129

3.3.4Colors as signs: Indexes or symbols130

3.3.5Color as the phenomenal property of light132

3.4Going further133

References134

Chapter 4.Exploring soundscapes139

4.1Background139

4.1.1Historical overview and emergence of a scientific community139

4.1.2Names, categories and concepts144

4.1.2.1Lexical categories of soundscape145

4.1.2.2Naming soundscapes in different languages145

4.1.3From naming to meaning in discourse146

4.1.4Conclusion on different conceptualizations of soundscapes148

4.2How do people make sense of sounds around them149

4.2.1Categories of isolated everyday sounds149

4.2.2Soundscapes in individual memory151

4.2.3Exploring soundscapes in the wild152

4.2.4Exploring soundscape in the lab154

4.2.4.1Ecological validity of experimental settings155

4.3Soundscape as a hybrid concept158

4.3.1Theories of categorization158

4.3.2From sounds to sources and activities159

4.3.3The challenge of working across disciplines159

4.4Conclusion161

References163

Additional readings on soundscape research165

Chapter 5.Exploring speech experiences: Linguists, speakers, sounds and meanings169

5.1Is speech just sounds?170

5.1.1Speech as auditory phenomena: Categorical perception within discourse acts175

5.1.2Speech as an acoustic object: Speech signals178

5.1.3Representing speech sounds179

5.2Speech in the wild: Historical landmarks in linguistic fieldwork182

5.3Case study: Muylaq’ Aymara187

5.3.1Scientific positioning: Elaborating and rephrasing a research question187

Where will I perform fieldwork?188

Preparing to go from Amsterdam to Moquegua188

5.3.2Collecting speech sounds outside of the lab189

5.3.2.1Eliciting and recording speech sounds in the wild189

Eliciting speech in Moquegua

Traveling from Moquegua to Muylaque for the first time

First impressions of Muylaque

Another failed attempt at eliciting speech

5.3.2.2Transcribing speech sounds in the wild199

Collaborative fieldwork

5.3.3From collection to analysis of speech sounds202

Why not just use features of the acoustic signal?202

Why not just use the letters from (English, French) orthography?206

Improved elicitation methods206

5.4A summary of methodological consequences208

References210

Chapter 6.Exploring and talking about music213

6.1Is music just sounds?213

6.1.1Music and speech vs. environmental sounds214

6.1.2Music vs. speech216

6.1.3Music and its instruments217

6.1.4Music recording, storing, duplicating, and rendering219

6.1.5Music and psychophysics219

6.1.6Ecological validity221

6.1.7Towards a multidisciplinary approach222

6.2Case study: Experiencing the electric guitar223

6.2.1Setting the stage223

6.2.1.1Context of the study223

6.2.1.2Research questions224

6.2.1.3State of the art225

6.2.1.4Stimuli and participants227

Production of stimuli

Participants

6.2.2Listening only230

6.2.3Listening while playing232

6.2.3.1From one task to another232

6.2.3.2Verbalizations and psycholinguistics: Theoretical framework232

6.2.3.3The playing and verbalization task236

6.2.3.4Analysis of verbalizations238

6.3A summary of methodological consequences241

References242

Chapter 7.Smell: An unspeakable sensory experience?249

7.1What is olfaction about?250

7.2Odors and smells here and elsewhere252

7.2.1Odors ans smell in academic domains252

7.2.2Odor of death and devils, smell of life and gods254

7.2.3Odors and smells as social markers255

7.2.4Smell and cognition257

7.3Categories and Knowledge of odors and smells in practices258

7.3.1The classificatory tradition of odors? or odorants?259

7.3.2Chemistry and Technology of odors260

7.3.3Knowledges and categories for odors in (professional) practices261

7.3.3.1Savoirs faire olfactifs: Olfactory know-how262

7.3.3.2The new economic challenges between deodorization and odorization262

7.3.3.3Smell, scents and expertise in perfumes264

7.4Odors, Smells: Languages and communication267

7.4.1Between Taboos and Confidentiality268

7.4.2Linguistic resources for olfactory experiences269

7.4.2.1A first lexical inventory from dictionaries270

7.4.2.2Word elicitation task: In search for an olfactory chart and basic odor terms271

7.4.2.3Beyond basic odor words: Morphological and syntactic constructions274

7.4.2.4Lexical forms and word meaning in the discourse of subjective experience275

Personal marks

Evidentiality

7.4.3Experiencing and naming odors277

7.4.3.1Odors and “their” names: The veridical label revisited277

7.5Case studies281

7.5.1Odors in (public) space(s) of the real world281

7.5.1.1Led by the nose in commercial malls281

7.5.1.2Some “fragrances” of Paris? an olfactory walk in the Parisian subway283

7.5.2Sensory experience in literary texts: Isotopy and interpretative course284

7.6Theoretical, methodological and societal consequences286

References287

Chapter 8.Taste as a holisensory experience295

8.1Taste of food and Food to taste295

8.1.1Taste and flavor296

8.1.2What is tasted?298

8.1.3Food and eating as cultural practices: “You are what you eat”299

8.1.4In search for taste as the sensory experience for food303

8.1.5Exploring Taste: Evolution in Sensory Sciences304

8.1.6Taste and Languages306

8.2Case studies: Taste experience and ways of tasting307

8.2.1Ways of tasting and wording questions308

8.2.2Let’s have some drinks312

8.2.2.1Different expertises in wine313

8.2.2.2Consumers’ experience and discourse about Champagne315

A structured multisensory experience

A focus on Champagne bubbles

Champagne is more than (still) wine with bubbles

8.2.3Meaning constitution in discourse: The case of dark bread320

EARTHY: The taste of a dark bread321

8.3Conclusion325

References326

Chapter 9.From perception to sensory experiences: A paradigm shift333

9.1Sensory experience: Main concepts at work333

9.1.1Sensory experience as psychological invariants in memory333

9.1.2Reconsidering the five senses: Holisensoriality336

9.1.3Umwelt and meaning339

9.2Sensory categories as “acts of meaning”342

9.2.1From “natural categories” to categories as “acts of meaning”342

9.2.2“Ad hoc” categories, embodied and situated cognition344

9.2.2.1From “natural” to “ad hoc” categories (Barsalou)345

9.2.2.2From Rosch to Varela: From embodiment to phenomenology346

9.2.2.3Hutchins’s distributed cognition in the “wild”346

9.3Senses, sensors, and material culture348

9.4Sense(s) and symbolic systems352

9.4.1Language(s) matter(s): Signifier and signified353

9.4.2From words to meaning constitution in discourse357

9.5Sense(s) and knowledges359

9.5.1Knowledge vs. knowledges359

9.5.2Beyond dualisms: Unification of knowledges and meaning constitution360

9.5.3From multidisciplinarity to interdisciplinarity361

References362

Part II.Methodological consequences and guidelines

Chapter 10.Questioning sensory experience371

10.1Exploring sensory experience: Revisiting some oppositions372

10.1.1Objective/subjective: A problematic couple373

10.1.2Worlds of senses, and objectifying subjectivity375

Lure4376

Introspection376

Material culture377

Language and languages377

10.1.3Invariance between individual singularities and collective variations380

Variations as independent variables?381

Invariants and variations in data analysis382

10.2Methodological implications and iterative processes383

10.2.1Rephrasing the question384

10.2.2An interdisciplinary roadmap384

10.2.3Reducing complexity, but not too much389

10.2.3.1Who is concerned? How to select the participants?390

10.2.3.2You said “context”? Stimulations and stimuli391

10.2.3.3The influence of instructions and tasks393

10.2.3.4Results and Data constitution394

10.2.4Ecological validity for the constitution of meaning395

References399

Chapter 11.Subjects or participants?403

11.1From what is concerned to who is involved403

11.1.1Who are they in psychological research405

11.1.1.1The APA Publication manual406

11.1.1.2Who are they in experimental and cognitive psychology?408

11.1.1.3Subjects and their names in cognitive research on perception409

11.1.2Who are they in other scientific domains?413

11.1.2.1Naming who is concerned in linguistics and anthropology413

11.1.2.2Human, animals and otherness416

11.2Participants in exploring sensory experience418

11.2.1Identifying who they are in exploring sensory experience418

11.2.1.1In the visual domain418

11.2.1.2In the auditory domain419

11.2.1.3In the olfactory and gustatory domains420

11.2.2Selecting subjects or defining participants?421

Sex, gender and sensory experiences421

Age or cultural practices at different ages?422

11.2.2.1Previous knowledge and expertise: Who are the experts?422

Expert in what? Knowledges vs. experiences

Number of participants: Small is beautiful

11.2.3Subjects + Researchers = A relation between Participants427

11.2.3.1Interactions between individuals as beings or agents428

11.2.3.2Relations between humans as socially situated agents428

11.2.3.3Expectations and knowledges430

11.2.3.4Shared expectations and intersubjective meaning431

11.3Where epistemological prerequisites meet ethical concerns432

References433

Chapter 12.From stimulations to stimuli construction and selection439

12.1From real life stimulations to stimuli in the laboratory441

12.1.1A short history of Stimulus in Psychology: A forgotten debate?441

12.1.2Stimuli and sensor technologies444

12.1.2.1Visual capture and reproduction445

Visual re-presentations and visual experiences in practices

The visual space as a learned representation

12.1.2.2Auditory experience and acoustic capture and reproduction448

12.1.2.3Olfaction and taste experiences450

12.2From the global situation to analytic properties of stimuli453

12.2.1Segmentation and relevant categories454

12.2.1.1What, where, and when to cut454

12.2.1.2In the visual domain455

12.2.1.3In the auditory domain456

Segmentation for speech

Segmentation for music

Segmentation for environmental sounds

12.2.1.4In the olfactory domain459

12.2.2Stimuli selection460

12.2.2.1Selecting olfactory stimuli461

12.2.2.2Selecting auditory stimuli463

12.2.3Construction of the stimuli set464

Familiarity465

Typicality465

Family resemblance within a stimuli set467

The internal structure of the stimuli set467

Stimuli as parts of experimental setting, for whom for what task?468

References469

Chapter 13.Procedures and outcomes475

13.1Setting the stage476

13.1.1Targeting sensory experience476

13.1.2The social relation between researchers and participants477

13.1.3Researchers and participants’ a priori knowledges479

13.1.4Playing the game “as if”: Ecological laboratory settings481

13.1.5Designing experimental settings483

13.2Revisiting classical procedures483

13.2.1Instructions as tuned linguistic instruments484

Eliciting experiential knowledge as autobiographical memory484

Naming what it is or expressing sensory experience485

13.2.2Procedures and methods from social sciences486

13.2.2.1Commented walks487

13.2.2.2Interviews and surveys488

Self-confrontation interviews

L’entretien d’explicitation, or Elicitation interview method

Focus groups

13.2.3Adjusting questionnaires to sensory experience491

Concepts wording and formulation of the questions491

Genericity and specificity of the questions492

Positive / negative orientation of the questions493

Activity related questions: Cognition in practices493

Order of the questions: The induction of answers495

13.2.4Scales and semantic differentials496

13.3Conclusion499

References500

Chapter 14.Making sense of the outcomes505

14.1Data as constructs505

14.1.1The quantitative/qualitative opposition506

14.1.2Beyond the quantitative/qualitative opposition506

14.1.2.1New perspectives and growing alternatives506

Mixed methods and the inheritance of sensory sciences

14.1.2.2Quantitative research, yes! … but after semantic control!509

14.2Numbers and words as embedded knowledge511

14.2.1Numbers as amodal symbolic representations511

14.2.2Words as forms and meaning513

Iconicity of the linguistic sign and categorization514

Motivation and morphological similarity in categorization515

14.3Linguistic expressions for sensory experiences517

14.3.1How can a word account for sensory experience?517

14.3.1.1Iconicity as the sensory relation between signifier and the world518

14.3.1.2Morphological similarities within linguistic systems518

14.3.2Words as signified: Lexical resources for sensory analysis520

14.3.2.1Source names as sensory words: Metonymy520

14.3.2.2Morphosyntactic devices522

14.3.3Sensory experiences and Words (meanings) in context525

14.3.4Sensory experiences and knowledges in discourse527

14.3.4.1When one word is a discourse: The locutoire/delocutoire opposition528

14.3.4.2Personal marks529

14.3.4.3Modality and evidentiality531

14.4Tracking the objectivity of sensory experiences in discourse533

References534

Chapter 15.Free sorting task for exploring sensory categories537

15.1Background537

15.1.1A shift from the psychophysical tradition537

15.1.2The task539

15.1.3Free sorting tasks in psychology and sensory sciences540

15.1.4Theoretical framework for free sorting task542

15.1.5Free sorting task for sensory experiences543

15.2Guidelines and recommendations544

15.2.1Modality-specific procedure of free sorting task544

15.2.1.1Instructions547

15.2.1.2Stimuli selection vs. “objects” to be sorted548

15.2.1.3Participants550

15.2.2Output analysis552

15.2.2.1Mathematical analysis552

Clustering stimuli

Representing categories as additive trees

Representing categories as central partition

Clustering participants, or measuring inter-participant agreement

Going further

15.2.2.2Verbal analysis563

15.2.3Reconnecting to physical description of stimuli565

15.3Conclusions: Interests of free sorting task566

References567

Afterword573

Table of contents

Part I.Theoretical frameworks and some empirical results

Part II.Methodological consequences and guidelines