Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

Subliminal Perception01:15

Subliminal Perception

Subliminal perception refers to the processing of sensory information that occurs below the level of conscious awareness. Researchers study subliminal perception by presenting a stimulus, such as a word or image, very quickly, typically around 50 milliseconds. This rapid presentation is often followed by another stimulus, such as a pattern of dots or lines, which blocks further mental processing of the initial stimulus. As a result, if participants cannot identify the initial stimulus better...
Somatosensation01:33

Somatosensation

The somatosensory system relays sensory information from the skin, mucous membranes, limbs, and joints. Somatosensation is more familiarly known as the sense of touch. A typical somatosensory pathway includes three types of long neurons: primary, secondary, and tertiary. Primary neurons have cell bodies located near the spinal cord in groups of neurons called dorsal root ganglia. The sensory neurons of ganglia innervate designated areas of skin called dermatomes.
Sensation01:21

Sensation

Sensory receptors are specialized neurons that respond to specific types of external stimuli, initiating the process known as sensation. This occurs when sensory input, such as light entering the eye, is detected by these receptors, causing chemical changes in the cells of the retina. These cells then convert the sensory stimulus into action potentials that are transmitted to the central nervous system, a process termed transduction.
Absolute thresholds can quantify the sensitivity of sensory...
Sensory Perception: Organization of the Somatosensory System01:11

Sensory Perception: Organization of the Somatosensory System

The somatosensory system is the central and peripheral nervous system component that senses and processes touch, pressure, pain, temperature, and body position or proprioception. The process of sensation takes place at three levels:
The receptor level:
The receptor level is the first stage of sensation. It involves the detection of a stimulus by specialized sensory receptors. The stimulus must arrive within the receptor's receptive field. Next, the receptor converts the energy of the stimulus...

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Evaluating perceptual performance with pixel-based tactile images.

IEEE transactions on haptics·2026
Same author

Effect of a grace period on false alarm rates of smartwatch-based out-of-hospital cardiac arrest detection systems: a pilot study.

Resuscitation plus·2026
Same author

Normal force in natural active touch correlates with fingertip stiffness.

Scientific reports·2026
Same author

Vibrotactile spatial acuity on the back.

Perception·2024
Same author

Hands-Free Haptic Navigation Devices for Actual Walking.

IEEE transactions on haptics·2024
Same author

Influence of Back Length on Vibrotactile Acuity in Vertical Direction.

IEEE transactions on haptics·2024

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 5, 2026

Tactile Semiautomatic Passive-Finger Angle Stimulator (TSPAS)
04:40

Tactile Semiautomatic Passive-Finger Angle Stimulator (TSPAS)

Published on: July 30, 2020

The effect of feature saliency on haptic subitizing.

Myrthe A Plaisier1, Martijn van't Woud, Astrid M L Kappers

  • 1Helmholtz Institute, Universiteit Utrecht, Padualaan 8, 3584 CH, Utrecht, The Netherlands. m.plaisier@fbw.vu.nl

Experimental Brain Research
|December 29, 2010
PubMed
Summary

Subitizing, the rapid judgment of small quantities, was studied in touch. Adding distractors increased response times, but subitizing was only possible with a salient distractor, mirroring visual findings.

More Related Videos

Measuring Attention and Visual Processing Speed by Model-based Analysis of Temporal-order Judgments
13:00

Measuring Attention and Visual Processing Speed by Model-based Analysis of Temporal-order Judgments

Published on: January 23, 2017

End-To-End Deep Neural Network for Salient Object Detection in Complex Environments
03:31

End-To-End Deep Neural Network for Salient Object Detection in Complex Environments

Published on: December 15, 2023

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jun 5, 2026

Tactile Semiautomatic Passive-Finger Angle Stimulator (TSPAS)
04:40

Tactile Semiautomatic Passive-Finger Angle Stimulator (TSPAS)

Published on: July 30, 2020

Measuring Attention and Visual Processing Speed by Model-based Analysis of Temporal-order Judgments
13:00

Measuring Attention and Visual Processing Speed by Model-based Analysis of Temporal-order Judgments

Published on: January 23, 2017

End-To-End Deep Neural Network for Salient Object Detection in Complex Environments
03:31

End-To-End Deep Neural Network for Salient Object Detection in Complex Environments

Published on: December 15, 2023

Area of Science:

  • Cognitive Psychology
  • Haptic Perception
  • Numerosity Judgment

Background:

  • Subitizing allows fast, error-free numerosity judgment for small sets (<4), contrasting with slower counting for larger sets.
  • Subitizing, initially observed in vision, has also been demonstrated in the haptic modality.
  • In vision, salient distractors can impede subitizing, while non-salient ones have less impact.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the effect of adding a distractor item on haptic numerosity judgment.
  • To determine if distractor salience influences subitizing in the haptic modality.

Main Methods:

  • Participants judged the number of spheres grasped in their hand.
  • A distractor item (either a highly salient cube or a non-salient ellipsoid) was added to the set of spheres.
  • Response times and accuracy were recorded to assess numerosity judgment.

Main Results:

  • Adding a distractor item increased response time slopes, irrespective of the distractor's shape.
  • Haptic subitizing was only possible when the distractor item was highly salient.
  • These findings align with previous observations in visual numerosity judgment.

Conclusions:

  • Distractor salience plays a critical role in enabling subitizing within the haptic modality.
  • The findings suggest shared underlying mechanisms for subitizing across visual and haptic perception.
  • Haptic numerosity judgment is susceptible to interference from distractors, with salience being a key factor.