Many metallic visual stimuli, especially the so-called precious metals, have long had a rich symbolic meaning for humans. Intriguingly, however, while metallic is used to describe sensations associated with pretty much every sensory modality, the descriptor is normally positively valenced in the case of vision while typically being negatively valenced in the case of those metallic sensations that are elicited by the stimulation of the chemical senses. In fact, outside the visual modality, metallic would often appear to be used to describe those sensations that are unfamiliar and unpleasant as much as to refer to any identifiable perceptual quality (or attribute). In this review, we assess those sensory stimuli that people choose to refer to as metallic, summarising the multiple, often symbolic, meanings of (especially precious) metals. The evidence of positively valenced sensation transference from metallic serviceware (e.g., plates, cups, and cutlery) to the food and drink with which it comes into contact is also reviewed.

许多金属视觉刺激物，尤其是所谓的贵金属，长期以来对人类具有丰富的象征意义。然而有趣的是，虽然金属感用于描述几乎与每种感觉形态相关的感觉，但在视觉的情况下，该描述符通常是正价的，而在由视觉刺激引起的金属感觉的情况下，该描述符通常是负价的。化学感官。事实上，在视觉形态之外，金属常常被用来描述那些不熟悉和不愉快的感觉，以及指任何可识别的感知质量（或属性）。在这篇评论中，我们评估了人们选择称为金属的那些感官刺激，总结了（尤其是贵金属）金属的多种（通常是象征性的）含义。还回顾了从金属餐具（例如盘子、杯子和餐具）到与其接触的食物和饮料的正价感觉转移的证据。