Brass Instrument Psychology

[Ready for Fall 2026]

Modified: 2026-09-29 2:14 PM CDST

• Early psychophysics consisted of discovering the identification and location of those skin receptors.
  • That era of psychology is often called the "brass-instrument psychology" era because much of the data on hot and cold receptors was collected by brass instruments.
    • In the diagram on the skin senses (see diagram), a brass instrument is shown in silhouette.
      • It has a handle and a large piece of brass attached.
    • The brass part was first immersed in either warm or cold water.
    • Then it was touched lightly to the arm of a blindfolded participant who responded whether or not it felt warm or cold.
    • Notice also in the diagram that the map of the skin is divided up into discrete areas.
    • So, there are places on your skin where :
      • you cannot feel hot,
      • other places where you cannot feel cold,
      • and places where you can feel neither pressure nor pain.
  • Brass Instrument psychology (Video)
    • Shows development of equipment used to study psychology and especially psychophysics