Conference article

Clothing comfort sensation is composed of multisensory processes and involves complex processes; in which a large number of stimuli from clothing and external environments are communicated to the brain through multiple channels of sensory responses to form subject perceptions. We get much information through visual sensation; so studies on the influences of visual information on clothing pressure sensation is very important. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of clothing pressure on physiological and psychological responses in order to create a method for evaluation of clothing comfort. We have measured physiological and psychological responses in the clothing pressure sensation under 3 visual conditions; Condition 1 was that the subjects had their eyes open and looked forward; Condition 2 was that the subjects looked at themselves in a mirror; and Condition 3 was that the subjects without a waist belt look at other subjects who wore a fastened waist belt. Consequently; in all three conditions; the sympathetic nerve activity decreased. The sympathetic nerve activity decreased also in Condition 3 in which the information of clothing pressure was added through only visual sensation. In the re-rest period; the response in Condition 2 was significantly larger than that in Condition 1 and Condition 3. We concluded that it is important to consider the effects of visual information as well as the effect of clothing pressure sensation in the evaluation of clothing comfort sensation.

Clothing pressure sensation; Visual sensation; Multisensory; Physiological responses; Psychological responses