AND

SENSES
Lesson 8
 Definition of
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Terms:
• Sensorium – the totality of our sent
individual senses organs perception
a conglomerate
• Olfaction – senses of smell
• Pheromone – a substance believed
to be emitted by organisms and
which is thought to be influencing
social behaviors.
• Major Histocompatibility Complex –
a set of protein molecules
associated with the immune system.
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Introduction
When we were children, we were
taught that there are five bodily
organs which corresponds to our
primary senses, which we use to
explore and experience the world
around us.
• Our eyes enable our sense of sight (visual), so that we are able to see visual
stimuli (color, size, shape) in the environment.
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• Our nose enables sense of smell. (olfaction), so that we are able to experience
scent.
• Our ears allow us sense of hearing (audition); so that we are able to experience
sounds of varying tones, pitches, and volume.
• Our tongue is covered with taste buds that allow us sense of taste (gustation), so
that we are able to experience the taste (eg,
saltness, sweetness,
bitterness, etc.) of our food and other objects we put in our mouth.
• Then, we have sensory reception. our skin, muscles and joints which allow us the
sense of touch/feeling so that we are able to have tactile experiences, eg, heat or
its absence, various texture, various physical pressure.

These five senses comprise our sensorium--the totality of our sensory experiences
and perception. While we receive information from our environment through the
senses, our brain has the ability to organize and interpret these numerous stimuli
into
meaningful ideas that are useful for our choices (behavior)response arc.
Various senses play in the human sexual response.
1. Visual Experience 5
• Humans are predominantly visual. Our societies highly rely on visual
culture to co create meaning and convey information.
• In the context of human sexuality, some studies have explored gender
differences in visual stimuli and sexual arousal. For instance, the study of
Rupp and Wallen (2007) found that men respond more to visual sexual
stimuli and tend to be influenced by the sex of the actors in a sexual
scenario. This means that when confronted by an intimate interaction. men
would tend to be rather influenced by visual cues, eg, how the other person
looks physically or what the other person is wearing. In the same study, on
the other hand, women were found to be more influenced by context,
although they too are responsive to the sexual content of a visual stimuli.
This means that when confronted by an intimate interaction. women tend
to be rather influenced by the nature of relationship they have with another
person, eg, is the other person someone they know and can trust.
2. Olfactory Experience
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• Recent studies in the field of human sexuality show that while we humans have
limited olfaction, sense of smell may play an important part in our sexual

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response.
• For instance, in a study by Muscarella, Arantes, and Koncsol (2011) explored on
the preferred scent among heterosexual and homosexual males and females. The
study found that heterosexual females who participated in their study tend to like
wearing floral-sweet bur want musky-spicy scent to be worn by their partners.
Heterosexual males and homosexual females in their study preferred wearing
musky-spicy scent and liked their partners to wear floral-sweet scent. On other
hand, homosexual males who joined the study wanted musky spicy for
themselves and their partner. Scientist have tried to explain how human olfaction
influence sexuality. They identified through possibilities: first, through what is
referred to as signature odor (the unique way that each individual smells) which is
associated with the Major Histocompatibility Complex, a set of proteins signaling
our immune system the presence of foreign substances, and second through
what is referred to as pheromones, substances putatively excreted by our glands
which signals mood and affects social behaviors.
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Some chemicals thought to be human
hormones:
1. androstadienone (AND), a
testosterone-like substance found in
male sweat, saliva, and urine;
2. estratetraenol (EST), an estrogen-
like found in female urine,
3. 1-pyrroline, a substance found in
human semen, pubic sweat, and
smegma
3. Tactile Experiences 8
• Touch is observed to be an element of intimacy. Our body is covered
in skin, often referred to as the largest bodily organ.
• Our skin totally accounts for 16 to 20% of our body weight. It is a
sensitive organ as every square inch of it houses more than a thousand
nerve endings.
As a sensation, touch has some elements.
• Tactile element pertains to the experience relative to the object being
felt: Is it rough? Is it smooth? Is the surface hard or soft?
• Then there is thermal element: Is it warm or cold?
• Finally, there is vibrational element: Is the pressure of the touch
strong or weak? Is the sensation moving and pulsating or steady and
stationary?
Different parts of the human body also have different threshold of
tactile experience.
Primary erogenous.
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• Areas such as the mouth, anus, genitals, and nipples (they are very sensitive to
touch) Secondary erogenous zones
• The back, cheek, neck, and buttocks are as they are also sensitive to touch but
only supportive of the primary zones in eliciting response
.
Human touch is essential in social bonds. Often, we only give people we trust the
right to have tactile contact with us. It is always a consensual act to touch and be
touched. When we touch, our body produces a hormone called oxytocin.
Oxytocin
• it is referred to as the love hormone because it is believed to influence tribal
behaviors and maternal bonding.
• Observed to be produced in vast amounts during nipple stimulation, such as for
instance when a mother suckles her newly-born
In intimate relationships, touch is suggested to be one of the love languages. A
person whose love language is touch tend to give and receive tactile stimulation
to and from others through holding, hugging, and other forms of physical
connections.
4. Auditory Experience 10
• Social interactions are not only visual but are also auditory
processes. Our human language often have a verbal
counterpart to the written language.

• Sexual activities are also a verbal communication process.

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Thank
you
Micca Jo
Marie-en Zamora