<h2>Can We Compare Subjective Experience?</h2>
<p>Consider this pain scale, variations of which are commonly used in medical settings:</p>
<p><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/0PZ3x.gif" alt="enter image description here" /></p>
<p>If two people answer &quot;6 - distressing, miserable pain,&quot; can we reliably compare the subjective pain intensities between the two individuals? How would we know that one person's experience of &quot;distressing, miserable pain&quot; is the same intensity as the other's?</p>
<h2>Supertasters and Taste Perception</h2>
<p>What's helped us to answer a question like this comes from Linda Bartoshuk's work on taste perception in so-called supertasters vs. normal tasters.</p>
<p>Bartoshuk famously uses blue dye to reveal the number of tastebuds on participants' tongues. As you can see below, supertasters have a lot more tastebuds than normal folks (and what Bartoshuk calls &quot;non-tasters&quot;). As a consequence of this, we see variation in taste perception.</p>
<p><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/c3o3Y.jpg" alt="enter image description here" /></p>
<p>What's important is that the number of taste buds provides a reliable physical/genetic basis by which to predict taste perception (e.g., bitterness intensity). So we would expect reports of bitterness intensity like so: supertasters &gt; normal tasters &gt; non-tasters.</p>
<p>Consider this 9-point scale assessing bitterness intensity:</p>
<p><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/2Ho3k.png" alt="enter image description here" /></p>
<p>If a supertaster and taster both rated a 5 on this scale, we'd wonder why there wasn't a difference.  In fact, how could we know that a 5 for a supertaster is the same intensity as a 5 for a normal taster?  Perhaps a 5 is twice as bitter for a supertaster than a normal taster, but this scale is not suitable for determining that.</p>
<h2>Cross-modality Matching</h2>
<p>Without getting into too much detail, the solution to between-group comparison is cross-modality matching.  Basically, we ask participants to compare their experiences of bitterness to, for example, the brightness of a light.</p>
<p>Importantly, perceptions of brightness are presumed to be independent of perceptions of taste (i.e., having more/less taste buds isn't related to perceptions of brightness).  So variation in brightness between the two groups will be the same on average.  Thus, it can serve as a potential means by which to compare subjective intensity of taste perception.</p>
<p>Bartoshuk uses this example with sound that I find easy to understand:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>We put earphones on everyone and ask both groups to adjust the loudness of a tone to the sweetness of the soda. If hearing and taste are really independent, then the average perception of loudness should be the same in the two groups, but subjects with the high density of taste buds set the tone to 90 decibels (about the loudness of a train whistle), and those with the low density set the tone to 80 decibels (about the loudness of a dial tone). As we know that a tone of 90 decibels sounds twice as loud as a tone of 80 decibels, we can conclude that the soda tastes twice as sweet to those with the high density of taste buds. We have identified a systematic difference in taste intensity between these two groups.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>You can also use imagined sensations. For example, Fast (2004) has found that:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>supertasters matched the bitterness of dark chocolate to the brightness of low beam headlights at night, while nontasters matched it to the brightness of the moon.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Consider this scale, which uses cross-modality matching to assess perception of candy sweetness intensity between supertasters (ST) and non-tasters (NT):</p>
<p><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/JS2nP.png" alt="enter image description here" /></p>
<p>When using these matched modalities, you get systematic differences in sweetness perception that you otherwise wouldn't see using the standard 9-point sensory scale above.</p>
<h2>Further Reading</h2>
<p><em>I didn't give a particularly comprehensive outline of cross-modality matching, so for more information, consult the sources below.</em></p>
<p>Bartoshuk, L. (2014). <a href="http://pps.sagepub.com/content/9/1/91.short" rel="noreferrer">The measurement of pleasure and pain.</a> <em>Perspectives on Psychological Science, 9</em>(1), 91-93.</p>
<p>Bartoshuk, L. M., Fast, K., &amp; Snyder, D. J. (2005). <a href="http://cdp.sagepub.com/content/14/3/122.short" rel="noreferrer">Differences in our sensory worlds: Invalid comparisons With labeled scales.</a> <em>Current Directions in Psychological Science, 14</em>(3), 122-125.</p>
<p>Kalva, J. J., Sims, C. A., Puentes, L. A., Snyder, D. J., &amp; Bartoshuk, L. M. (2014). <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1750-3841.12342/full" rel="noreferrer">Comparison of the Hedonic General Labeled Magnitude Scale with the Hedonic 9-Point Scale.</a> <em>Journal of Food Science, 79</em>(2), S238-S245.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-05-10T21:22:31.070Z
2015-05-10T21:22:31.070Z
2020-06-17T09:55:31.633Z
mrt
<p>It is the major problem of all cognitive sciences to deal with subjectivity. On the other hand, in order to figure out what is cognition or psychology, one must ultimately deal with this problem. As a starter, I wonder if there is any study about identicalness of perceptions among subjects. Are the perceptions of two different subjects on an object identical? In other words, can the perceptions of two subjects about a tomato differ from each other? One may experience the redness of tomato as what the other call blue.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-05-06T07:58:42.403Z
There's been some work done by Bartoshuk (e.g., [this paper](http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0950329302000770)) that talks about how to overcome problems with comparing subjective experience across individuals.  I won't have time to give a complete answer until late this week, but if anyone else wants to read/summarize his work below, that's cool too.
mrt
<cognitive-psychology><perception>
Is there a way to compare the subjective experiences of two different subjects upon an object?
Berkay Gökova
# Is there a way to compare the subjective experiences of two different subjects upon an object?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2015-05-05)

It is the major problem of all cognitive sciences to deal with subjectivity. On the other hand, in order to figure out what is cognition or psychology, one must ultimately deal with this problem. As a starter, I wonder if there is any study about identicalness of perceptions among subjects. Are the perceptions of two different subjects on an object identical? In other words, can the perceptions of two subjects about a tomato differ from each other? One may experience the redness of tomato as what the other call blue.

**Tags:** cognitive-psychology, perception

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: There's been some work done by Bartoshuk (e.g., [this paper](http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0950329302000770)) that talks about how to overcome problems with comparing subjective experience across individuals.  I won't have time to give a complete answer until late this week, but if anyone else wants to read/summarize his work below, that's cool too.  

---

## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2015-05-10. Score: 8

## Can We Compare Subjective Experience?

Consider this pain scale, variations of which are commonly used in medical settings:

![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/0PZ3x.gif)

If two people answer "6 - distressing, miserable pain," can we reliably compare the subjective pain intensities between the two individuals? How would we know that one person's experience of "distressing, miserable pain" is the same intensity as the other's?

## Supertasters and Taste Perception

What's helped us to answer a question like this comes from Linda Bartoshuk's work on taste perception in so-called supertasters vs. normal tasters.

Bartoshuk famously uses blue dye to reveal the number of tastebuds on participants' tongues. As you can see below, supertasters have a lot more tastebuds than normal folks (and what Bartoshuk calls "non-tasters"). As a consequence of this, we see variation in taste perception.

![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/c3o3Y.jpg)

What's important is that the number of taste buds provides a reliable physical/genetic basis by which to predict taste perception (e.g., bitterness intensity). So we would expect reports of bitterness intensity like so: supertasters > normal tasters > non-tasters.

Consider this 9-point scale assessing bitterness intensity:

![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/2Ho3k.png)

If a supertaster and taster both rated a 5 on this scale, we'd wonder why there wasn't a difference. In fact, how could we know that a 5 for a supertaster is the same intensity as a 5 for a normal taster? Perhaps a 5 is twice as bitter for a supertaster than a normal taster, but this scale is not suitable for determining that.

## Cross-modality Matching

Without getting into too much detail, the solution to between-group comparison is cross-modality matching. Basically, we ask participants to compare their experiences of bitterness to, for example, the brightness of a light.

Importantly, perceptions of brightness are presumed to be independent of perceptions of taste (i.e., having more/less taste buds isn't related to perceptions of brightness). So variation in brightness between the two groups will be the same on average. Thus, it can serve as a potential means by which to compare subjective intensity of taste perception.

Bartoshuk uses this example with sound that I find easy to understand:

> We put earphones on everyone and ask both groups to adjust the loudness of a tone to the sweetness of the soda. If hearing and taste are really independent, then the average perception of loudness should be the same in the two groups, but subjects with the high density of taste buds set the tone to 90 decibels (about the loudness of a train whistle), and those with the low density set the tone to 80 decibels (about the loudness of a dial tone). As we know that a tone of 90 decibels sounds twice as loud as a tone of 80 decibels, we can conclude that the soda tastes twice as sweet to those with the high density of taste buds. We have identified a systematic difference in taste intensity between these two groups.

You can also use imagined sensations. For example, Fast (2004) has found that:

> supertasters matched the bitterness of dark chocolate to the brightness of low beam headlights at night, while nontasters matched it to the brightness of the moon.

Consider this scale, which uses cross-modality matching to assess perception of candy sweetness intensity between supertasters (ST) and non-tasters (NT):

![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/JS2nP.png)

When using these matched modalities, you get systematic differences in sweetness perception that you otherwise wouldn't see using the standard 9-point sensory scale above.

## Further Reading

*I didn't give a particularly comprehensive outline of cross-modality matching, so for more information, consult the sources below.*

Bartoshuk, L. (2014). [The measurement of pleasure and pain.](http://pps.sagepub.com/content/9/1/91.short) *Perspectives on Psychological Science, 9*(1), 91-93.

Bartoshuk, L. M., Fast, K., & Snyder, D. J. (2005). [Differences in our sensory worlds: Invalid comparisons With labeled scales.](http://cdp.sagepub.com/content/14/3/122.short) *Current Directions in Psychological Science, 14*(3), 122-125.

Kalva, J. J., Sims, C. A., Puentes, L. A., Snyder, D. J., & Bartoshuk, L. M. (2014). [Comparison of the Hedonic General Labeled Magnitude Scale with the Hedonic 9-Point Scale.](http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1750-3841.12342/full) *Journal of Food Science, 79*(2), S238-S245.


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