Human Senses

This chapter addresses key aspects of how the human senses works: vision, audition, olfaction, gustation, and taction are identified as the five primary “traditional” senses. Additional human sensory capacities are identified as “non-traditional” senses. The chapter begins by introducing sensors as transducers that consist of a receptor and a convertor. Adaptation, inhibition, and sensory thresholds are identified as processes that influence the detection of stimuli. The traditional human senses are explored with respect to physiology, psychophysics, adaptations, and ergonomic applications. The body of knowledge concerning vision, audition, and taction is easier to quantify and apply ergonomically than that of others. The chapter concludes by addressing aspects of sensory dysfunction that interfere with, or complicate, methods of sensory perception and processing in ergonomic applications.