Taste
Smell
Touch
Kinesthesis
Vestibular System
Stimulus
Chemicals in food
Chemicals in the air
Pressure, warmth, cold, pain
Body position in space
Displaced fluid
Receptors
Chemical particles of food dissolved in saliva
Chemical detection
Somesthetic receptors
Body’s posture and positioning
Head position
Location of Receptors
Taste buds
Olfactory bulb
The skin
Joints and muscles
Semicircular canals
Basic Elements of Perception
Sweet, sour, salty, bitter
Strong and weak odors
Expectations, experiences and mood.
Sense of location
Balance and equilibrium
A circus entertainer uses many senses, but predominantly uses the kinesthetic sense, vestibular senses, and sense of touch. The kinesthetic sense is the sense of the body’s position in relation to other objects. A circus entertainer will use this sense to navigate and perceive positions, which can be helpful in stunts such as the trapeze act. The vestibular sense is used for the perception of balance and equilibrium. It allows the entertainer to perform the most difficult activities such as balancing on a tightrope to the simplest act of walking the plank. The sense of touch is used to feel pressure, temperature, and pain. The circus entertainer can use this sense when juggling dangerous items, such as swords and torches. He will use his sense of touch to ensure that he does not catch the sharp end of the sword, which will inflict pain on him, or catch the fire end of the torch, from which he will feel intense heat.