Understanding Psychology (10th Ed)

120 Chapter 
4 
Sensation and Perception
The Skin Senses: Touch, Pressure, 
Temperature, and Pain
It started innocently when Jennifer Darling hurt her right wrist during gym class. At 
fi rst it seemed like a simple sprain. But even though the initial injury healed, the 
excruciating, burning pain accompanying it did not go away. Instead, it spread to her 
other arm and then to her legs. The pain, which Jennifer described as similar to “a hot 
iron on your arm,” was unbearable—and never stopped.
The source of Darling’s pain turned out to be a rare condition known as “refl ex 
sympathetic dystrophy syndrome,” or RSDS. For a victim of RSDS, a stimulus as 
mild as a gentle breeze or the touch of a feather can produce agony. Even bright 
sunlight or a loud noise can trigger intense pain. 
Pain such as Darling’s can be devastating, yet a lack of pain can be equally bad. 
If you never experienced pain, for instance, you might not notice that your arm had 
brushed against a hot pan, and you would suffer a severe burn. Similarly, without 
FIGURE 4 
All tongues are not created 
equal, according to taste researchers 
Linda Bartoshuk and Laurie Lucchina. 
Instead they suggest that the intensity 
of a fl avor experienced by a given 
person is determined by that person’s 
genetic background. This taste test can 
help determine if you are a nontaster, 
average taster, or supertaster. 
(Source: 
Bartoshuk & Lucchina, 1997.)
TASTE SCALE
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Barely
Detectable
Weak
Moderate
Strong
Very Strong
Strongest
Imaginable Sensation