Disfluent, But Fast

Processing fluency, a metacognitive feeling of ease of cognitive processing, serves as a cue in various types of judgments. Processing fluency is sometimes evaluated by response times, with shorter response times indicating higher fluency. The present study examined existence of the opposite association; that is, it tested whether disfluency may lead to faster decision times when it serves as a strong cue in judgment. Retrieval fluency was manipulated in an experiment using previous presentation and phonological fluency by varying pronounceability of pseudowords. Participants liked easy-to-pronounce and previously presented words more. Importantly, their decisions were faster for hard-to-pronounce and easy-to-pronounce pseudowords than for pseudowords moderate in pronounceability. The results thus showed an inverted-U shaped relationship between fluency and decision times. The findings suggest that disfluency can lead to faster decision times and thus demonstrate the importance of separating different processes comprising judgment when response times are used as a measure of processing fluency.

Measuring Food Waste and Consumption by Children Using Photography

A photography method was used to measure waste on food trays in school lunch in France, using the 5-point quarter-waste scale. While food waste has been studied extensively in US school lunches, the structure of the French lunch meal is quite different, with multiple courses, and vegetables (raw and cooked) in more than one course. Vegetables were the most wasted food category as usually seen in school lunch research, especially cooked vegetables, which were wasted at rates of 66%-83%. Raw vegetables were still wasted more than main dishes, starchy products, dairy, fruit, and desserts. Vegetables were also the most disliked food category, with the classes of vegetables falling in the same order as for waste. Waste and liking were highly correlated. Sensory characteristics of the food were cited as a main reason for liking/disliking. There is a strong connection between food liking and food consumption, and this connection should be the basis for future attempts to modify school lunch to improve consumption. The photographic method of measuring food waste at an individual level performed well.

Acceptance of a New Food Enriched in β-Glucans among Adolescents: Effects of Food Technology Neophobia and Healthy Food Habits

The aim of the present study was to evaluate adolescents’ acceptability of a novel flat bread modified by substituting a part of the wheat flour content with a Pleurotus ostreatus powder rich in β-glucans, which can potentially provide health benefits. The effects of food technology neophobia and adolescents’ food habits on hedonic perception of the developed product was also investigated. Two hundred and two adolescents (age range: 13–18 years; girls: 49.5%; boys: 50.5%) evaluated their liking of two flat breads, one with mushroom powder added and one control sample with only wheat flour. Sample acceptance was studied in relation to age, gender, neophobic traits and healthy food habits. The results showed that, even if the sample with mushroom powder added was generally well accepted, there were different hedonic responses among adolescents according to their food technology neophobia level and healthy habits. In particular, adolescents with a low food technology neophobia level and healthy eating behavior mostly appreciated the sample with mushroom powder added, whereas subjects with neophobic and unhealthy eating behavior gave comparable hedonic scores to the two samples. Moreover, a negative correlation was found between food technology neophobia level and healthy food habits. In conclusion, it is possible to develop a β-glucan-enriched product appreciated by adolescents using a sustainable ingredient. The developed product may be used to achieve the daily recommended intake of β-glucans by adolescents.

Conceptualizing anhedonias and implications for depression treatments

Anhedonia has been implicated as a core symptom of depression and schizophrenia, and studying anhedonia has yielded a wide array of important findings aiding the understanding and identification of psychological disorders. However, anhedonia is a complex and multifaceted construct; indeed, the term anhedonia has been defined in psychological and psychiatric research as many different concepts, a number of which are theoretically and methodologically independent of one another. In this review alone, we discuss research that separates social aspects of anhedonia from the physical contexts of anhedonia, with the former emphasizing interpersonal relationships as important to anhedonic symptoms, and the latter emphasizing biological and brain-related impairment as potential causes of chronic anhedonia states. We highlight research that distinguishes between interest in (wanting) or experience of (liking) potential pleasure as definitions of anhedonia and also disambiguate methodologically and theoretically distinct ways of assessing 1) trait-level dispositional tendencies, 2) state-level cross-sectional assessments, and 3) symptom-based recent changes from baseline, all of which have been used to indicate anhedonia. Lastly, we describe cutting-edge translations of basic anhedonia research into treatment and discuss how different conceptualizations of anhedonia, guided by recent theoretical and methodological advances, have begun to usher in a science of anhedonia that is consistent with increasingly personalized assessment and treatment. We conclude with a note for future research, emphasizing that continued application of theoretically based operationalizations of anhedonia and sound design are paramount to continue the recent progress toward meaningful and specific use of the anhedonia construct in clinical research.

Dysfunction of the to in Anorexia and Bulimia Nervosa: A fMRI

Brain reward dysfunction in eating disorders has been widely reported. However, whether the neural correlates of hedonic and motivational experiences related to food cues are differentially affected in anorexia nervosa of restrictive type (ANr), bulimia nervosa (BN), and healthy control (HC) participants remains unknown. Here, 39 women (14 ANr, 13 BN, and 12 HC) underwent fMRI while smelling food or non-food odors in hunger and satiety states during liking and wanting tasks. ANr and BN patients reported less desire to eat odor-cued food and odor-cued high energy-density food (EDF), respectively. ANr patients exhibited lower ventral tegmental area (VTA) activation than BN patients to food odors when rating their desire to eat, suggesting altered incentive salience attribution to food odors. Compared with HC participants, BN patients exhibited decreased activation of the caudate nucleus to food odors in the hunger state during the wanting task. Both patient groups also showed reduced activation of the anterior ventral pallidum and insula in response to high EDF odors in the hunger state during the wanting task. These findings indicate that brain activation within the food reward-regulating circuit differentiates the three groups. ANr patients further exhibited lower activation of the precuneus than other participants, suggesting a possible role of body image distortion in ANr. Our study highlights that food odors are relevant sensory probes to gain better insight into the dysfunction of the mesolimbic and striatal circuitry involved in food reward processing in patients with EDs.

Decomposing Complexity Preferences for Music

Recently, we demonstrated complexity as a major factor for explaining individual differences in visual preferences for abstract digital art. We have shown that participants could best be separated into two groups based on their liking ratings for abstract digital art comprising geometric patterns: one group with a preference for complex visual patterns and another group with a preference for simple visual patterns. In the present study, building up on these results, we extended our investigations for complexity preferences from highly controlled visual stimuli to ecologically valid stimuli in the auditory modality. Similar to visual preferences, we showed that music preferences are highly influenced by stimulus complexity. We demonstrated this by clustering a large number of participants based on their liking ratings for song excerpts from various musical genres. Our results show that, based on their liking ratings, participants can best be separated into two groups: one group with a preference for more complex songs and another group with a preference for simpler songs. Finally, we considered various demographic and personal characteristics to explore differences between the groups, and reported that at least for the current data set age and gender to be significant factors separating the two groups.

Neural Correlates of Preference: A Transmodal Validation Study

Liking is one of the most important psychological processes associated with the reward system, being involved in affective processing and pleasure/displeasure encoding. Currently, there is no consensus regarding the combination of physiological indicators which best predict liking, especially when applied to dynamic stimuli such as videos. There is a lack of a standard methodology to assess likeability over time and therefore in assessing narrative and semantic aspects of the stimulus. We developed a time-dependent method to evaluate the physiological correlates of likeability for three different thematic categories, namely: adventure (AV), comedy (CM), and nature landscape (LS). Twenty-eight healthy adults with ages ranging from 18 to 35 years (average: 23.85 years) were enrolled in the study. The participants were asked to provide likeability ratings for videos as they watched them, using a response box. Three 60-s videos were presented, one for each category, in randomized order while the participant’s physiological data [electroencephalogram (EEG), electrocardiogram (ECG) and eye tracking (ET)] was recorded. The comedy video (CM) presented the smallest minimum accumulated normalized rating (ANR; p = 0.013) and the LS video presented the highest maximum ANR (p = 0.039). The LS video presented the longest time for first response (p < 0.001) and the AV video presented the shortest time for maximum response (p = 0.016). The LS video had the highest mean likeability rating with 1.43 ± 2.31 points; and the CM video had the lowest with 0.57 ± 1.77. Multiple linear regression models were created to predict the likeability of each video using the following physiological indicators; AV: power in beta band at C4 and P4 (p = 0.004, adj. R² = 0.301); CM: alpha power in Fp2 (p = 0.001, adj. R² = 0.326) and LS: alpha power in P4, F8, and Fp2; beta power in C4 and P4 and pupil size, (p = 0.002, adj. R² = 0.489). Despite its limitations (e.g., using one 1-min video per category) our findings suggest that there is a considerable difference in the psychophysiological correlates of stimuli with different contextual properties and that the use of time-dependent methods to assess videos should be considered as best practices.

Verbal Descriptions of Cue Direction Affect Object Desirability

Approach-avoidance behaviors are observed across a broad range of species. For humans, we tend move toward things we like, and away from things we dislike. Previous research tested whether repeatedly shifting visuo-spatial attention toward an object in response to eye gaze cues can increase liking for that object. Here, we tested whether a gaze-liking effect can occur for verbal descriptions of looking behavior without shifts of attention. Also, we tested the gaze specificity hypothesis – that the liking effect is specific to gaze cues – by comparing the effect of different types of cue (pointing gestures and arrow cues). In Experiment 1, participants (N = 205) were split into 5 groups according to the type of cue that was described as directed either toward or away from an object. The results show that (1) attention is not necessary; the liking effect was recorded for verbal descriptions of looking, (2) the effect also occurs for descriptions of pointing and arrows, and (3) the liking effect is enhanced for gaze cues compared to arrows, consistent with the gaze specificity hypothesis. Results from a further experiment suggest that the effect is not due to demand compliance. We conclude that the gaze-liking effect occurs for verbal descriptions of eye gaze. Indeed, because our method bypasses altogether the use of visual cues, objects, and shifts in visual selective attention, our paradigm appears to be more sensitive at tapping into the fundamental approach-avoidance response that mediate the implicit liking effect. As such, it offers new opportunities for research investigations in the future.

The Response of More Health Focused and Less Health Focused People to a Physical Activity Calorie Equivalent Label on Discretionary Snack Foods

A Physical Activity Calorie Equivalent (PACE) label shows the minutes of physical activity required to burn off the caloric content of a particular food. This study investigated the influence of PACE labelling on liking and consumption of discretionary snack foods in a group of more health focused and less health focused consumers. Participants (n = 97) tasted and rated (i.e., liking, prospective consumption) a range of snack foods with or without a PACE label. Total sampling consumption was also measured. Participants completed a shortened version of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire and the General Health Interest Scale questionnaire. Paired samples t-test, independent samples t-tests, a General Linear Model and Chi-Square tests were used to check for statistical significance. For more health focused participants (n = 57), the PACE label decreased only liking (p = 0.02). The PACE label was not effective in reducing liking (p = 0.49), prospective consumption (defined as the amount of the sample participants thought that they could consume) (p = 0.10) or consumption (p = 0.41) of energy-dense discretionary snack foods for less health focused individuals (n = 40). The level of participants’ physical activity did not facilitate the influence of PACE labelling on liking, consumption or prospective consumption. The PACE label was found to not be effective among less health focused individuals or the overall sample population. Therefore, the PACE label may not be an effective labelling strategy to reduce the liking or consumption of discretionary snack foods.

Comparison of Parent and Child Ratings of Fruit and Vegetable Liking to Assess Parent Accuracy as Proxy Reporters

This study examined the accuracy of parent-report child fruit/vegetable (FV) liking. Child/parent dyads (n = 24) were recruited from six Head Start preschools in North Carolina. Liking for 10 FVs was assessed using a validated pictorial tool for children; a similar scale was used for parents. Negative relationships were observed between parent/child for one fruit (grapes) and one vegetable (broccoli). Positive relationships were observed among oranges, grapes, and overall fruit rankings. Parents tended to rank children's liking of fruits higher than their children, while children ranked liking vegetables higher. Findings suggest parents may not be accurate respondents for preschool children's FV liking.

Reward systems and cognitions in Major Depressive Disorder

A lack of motivation and anhedonia represent frequent and pervasive symptoms in depression, although with poor specificity. Historically described as a response bias, reward-related impairments in depression may account for the important aspects of the cognitive impairments associated with diagnosis of major depressive disorder. Reward processing is a broad psychological construct that can be parsed into 3 distinct components known as "reinforcement learning" (learning), "reward responsiveness" (liking), and "motivation to obtain a reward" (wanting). Depressed patients respond hyposensitively to reward and maladaptively to punishment: this pattern is related to a dysfunction in the frontostriatal systems modulated by the monoamine systems; seems to be observed in medicated and unmedicated patients with depression and in healthy individuals with high levels of anhedonia; and could be observed in patients with a history of depression, even when in full remission. Considered to be cognitive impairments, reward-related-impairments may also constitute part of an underlying neurobiological vulnerability to major depressive disorder (MDD). For example, the reward-related impairment is state dependent and, more or less, correlated with symptom severity in some studies but has also been proposed as being trait like, with endophenotype characteristics, possibly contributing to the persistence of the disease or treatment resistance. The 3 core aspects of reward processing have specific neurobiological correlates that involve the ventral and dorsal striatum, lateral habenula, ventral tegmental area, orbitofrontal cortex, anterior cingulate cortex, and ventromedial and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. These structures underline the important role of the dopaminergic mesolimbic pathway, but glutamate and serotonin could also have an important role, at least in some aspects of reward-related impairments.

Effect of Pleurotus ostreatus powder addition in vegetable soup on ß-glucan content, sensory perception, and acceptability

Pleurotus ostreatus is an edible mushroom with interesting nutritional properties, which is able to grow on agri-food waste and could in turn be used as an ingredient for food fortification. However, new food products have to face with the growing consumer consciousness about what they eat and hedonic responses, which represent a key factor in determining food preference and choices. The aim of this study was to design a vegetable-based product (a pumpkin and carrot soup) added with increasing concentration of P. ostreatus powder rich in β-glucans, which are fibers with demonstrated bioactivity in humans, and to obtain a sensory description of these fortified products to find the desirable and undesirable sensory properties that affect their acceptance. A total of 109 subjects (women N = 52; men N = 57; age = 36.1 ± 14.4 years) evaluated five samples of pumpkin and carrot soup added with increasing concentrations of mushroom powder (0%, 2%, 4%, 6%, and a hidden control at 0%) for liking and sensory properties by means of the check-all-that-apply method. Results showed that creaminess, orange color, mild odor, and taste were positively related to vegetable soups liking, whereas strong taste, dark color, and mushroom odor described the less liked samples. Sample added with 2% of mushroom powder obtained comparable liking scores to the unmodified sample, while liking decreased with increasing concentration of P. ostreatus powder. The present results demonstrated that it is possible to fortify a vegetable soup with P. ostreatus powder developing well-accepted foods by consumers. This product could be used to implement an everyday dietary intervention of β-glucans over a long-term period.

Sweet and Umami Taste Perception Differs with Habitual Exercise in Males

Taste is influenced by several factors. However, whether habitual exercise level is associated with differences in taste perception has received little investigation. The aim of this study was to determine if habitual exercise is associated with differences in taste perception in men. Active (n = 16) and inactive (n = 14) males, between ages 18⁻55, underwent two days of sensory testing, using prototypical taste stimuli of high and low concentrations for sweet, salt, bitter, sour, umami, and carbohydrate (maltodextrin). Mean perceived intensity and hedonic ratings were recorded. Eating behaviour was assessed by the three factor eating questionnaire and food intake by EPIC food frequency questionnaire (FFQ). There were moderate to large differences between the two groups in perceived intensity for sweet taste at the high concentration and umami taste at both high and low concentrations, with active males recording a higher perceived intensity (p < 0.05 for all). The active group also recorded a greater dislike for umami low and carbohydrate low concentration (p < 0.01). Salt, bitter and sour perception did not significantly differ between the two groups. FFQ analysis showed no difference in % energy from macronutrients between the groups. Eating behaviour traits correlated with sweet taste intensity and umami taste liking, independent of activity status. Results indicated that sweet and umami taste perception differ in active compared to inactive males. Habitual exercise level should be considered in taste perception research and in product development. Whether differences in taste perception could be one factor influencing food intake and thus energy balance with habitual exercise warrants further investigation.

Sweet Taste as a Predictor of Dietary Intake: A Systematic Review

Taste is frequently cited as an important factor in food choice, and while a number of studies have attempted to identify relationships between taste function and dietary intake, a systematic review of these studies has been lacking. This review identified studies that examined associations between taste function or taste perception and dietary intake. The purpose was to determine which taste measure was most closely associated with dietary intake in healthy adults. Studies that measured some component of dietary intake, either acutely or longer-term, were eligible for inclusion. Studies were grouped into three categories: those that measured sensitivity (thresholds), intensity, or hedonic responses to sweet stimuli. Sensitivity and intensity studies demonstrated little association with dietary intake measures. Hedonic measurements were more likely to be associated with dietary intake, especially if sweet likers were analyzed separately from sweet dislikers, but the degree of heterogeneity among stimulus concentrations and dietary measures as well as small sample sizes likely obscured more consistent relationships between hedonic evaluation and dietary intake. Due to the potential for within-day and between-day variability in both taste function and dietary intake, future work should explore obtaining more than one taste measurement before comparing results to longer-term dietary assessments and attempts to standardize methods.

Placebo Effects on Visual Food Cue Reactivity: An Eye-Tracking Investigation

Background: Enhanced visual food cue reactivity has been associated with overeating and weight gain. Due to the increasing prevalence of high-fat food images that we are constantly exposed to in both the real and the virtual world, methods that are able to reduce the reactivity to these types of cues are urgently needed. This eye-tracking study investigated whether food cue reactivity, especially toward high-caloric food, can be reduced with a placebo intervention. Method: Fifty-two women [mean body mass index (BMI) = 23.5] were presented with pictures depicting combinations of food (high-caloric, low-caloric) and non-food items, which were shown once with and once without a placebo in a repeated-measures design. The placebo was a pill introduced as a medication targeting peptide YY that is able to reduce appetite specifically for high-caloric food. Gaze data (dwell time, fixations) and self-reported appetite were assessed during the two eye-tracking sessions (with/without placebo). Results: The placebo reduced general appetite as well as specific appetite for the depicted food items. Additionally, the placebo decreased the percentage of fixations and dwell time on the food images. The placebo was not able to specifically change visual food cue reactivity to high-caloric stimuli but reduced responses to both high-caloric and low-caloric food. Reported appetite reduction and weight concerns were positively associated with the placebo-related decrease in visual attention for food. Conclusions: The placebo was able to reduce visual food cue reactivity. This finding demonstrates that placebos are able to alter early visual-attentional processes.

"Aha"ptics: Enjoying an Aesthetic Aha During Haptic Exploration

Perceptual insight, like recognizing hidden figures, increases the appreciation of visually perceived objects. We examined this Aesthetic Aha paradigm in the haptic domain. Participants were thinking aloud during haptic exploration of 11 visually nonaccessible panels. They explored them again evaluating them on liking, pleasingness, complexity, and interestingness. Afterwards they rated photographs of the panels on the same variables. Haptic pleasingness was predictable by the strength of insight (Aha!) during free exploration and the material feel. Liking was increased when complexity was high in addition. Pleasingness and interest were negatively related to each other but predicted liking in a combined model. Personality and explorative strategies were considered, for example, strength of insight was increased for ambiguity-tolerant people, and people with high need for closure explored more globally. Evaluations of haptic and visual explorations correlated significantly, and in both modalities, complexity correlated more strongly with interest than with liking. Our study transfers the Aesthetic Aha effect to the haptic domain and reveals slight differences in its hedonic quality with a potentially higher relevance of pleasingness. We suggest that revealing a (meaningful) structure during exploration-visually or haptically-can enhance positive affect and interest hereby benefits from an increased level of complexity.

Changes in food reward during weight management interventions - a systematic review

BACKGROUND

Does food reward increase or decrease during weight management attempts? Excessive food intake is the main behavioural determinant of obesity; therefore, a better understanding of food reward and its relationship with food intake and weight outcomes could contribute to more effective weight management solutions.

METHODS

This systematic review assessed the role of changes in food reward (directly or indirectly measured) during weight management interventions. Four databases were searched for articles published until April 2018 involving weight management interventions (all types and designs) in healthy adults with overweight or obesity.

RESULTS

Of 239 full-text articles assessed, 17 longitudinal studies were included. Twelve studies reported a significant change in food reward over time. When compared with control interventions, dietary, pharmacological, behavioural and cognitive interventions were effective in decreasing liking and/or wanting for high-energy food using a range of methodologies to assess food reward. Three studies reported that decreased food reward was associated with improved weight management outcomes.

CONCLUSION

Food reward appears to decrease rather than increase during weight management interventions. Future studies specifically targeting the hedonic aspects of food intake (liking/wanting) are needed to gain a better understanding of how to uncouple the obesogenic relationship between food reward and overeating.

Personality traits affect the influences of intensity perception and emotional responses on hedonic rating and preference rank toward basic taste solutions

This study aimed at determining, based on independent predictors of taste intensity and emotional response, whether individual personality traits could affect prediction models of overall liking and preference rank toward basic taste solutions. Sixty-seven participants rated taste intensities (TI) of four basic-taste solutions at both low and high concentrations, and of plain water. Emotional responses toward each sample were measured using a self-reported emotion questionnaire (SE), facial expressions (FE), and/or autonomic nervous system responses (ANS). Participants rated overall liking of the samples and ranked their preferences. Based on the results of a hierarchical cluster analysis of five personality traits measured using the Big Five Inventory, participants were classified into two clusters: cluster N (high neuroticism) and cluster E (high extraversion). Results showed that the SE measure for both clusters N and E was better than the TI, FE, and ANS measures in explaining variances of overall liking or preference rank. A measurement of effect size found that using FE and/or taste intensity measures, along with self-reported emotion measure, could enhance model predictability of overall liking or preference rank toward taste samples for cluster N, while the contribution to the prediction model for cluster E was minimal. ANS measures showed little contribution to the prediction model of overall liking for either cluster. In conclusion, this study shows that personality traits, in particular traits of extraversion and neuroticism, affect not only optimum measures of emotional responses, but also modulate predicting overall liking and preference rank toward basic taste solutions.

Children Residing in Low-Income Households Like a Variety of Vegetables

Child vegetable intake falls far below the minimum recommended levels. Knowing which vegetables children may like help those responsible for providing vegetables to children to improve intake. The objective of this study was to measure vegetable liking for a wide variety of vegetables by a racially and ethnically diverse population of 9–12-year old children from low-income families. Children rated their liking of 35 vegetables using a 10-point hedonic scale. We tabulated the number of children that found each vegetable acceptable (ratings of ‘okay’ or above) and the number that found each vegetable unacceptable (ratings below ‘okay’). More than 50% of children who had tried a vegetable considered it acceptable. A large majority of the vegetables had mean ratings in the acceptable range. Corn was the most liked vegetable, closely followed by potatoes, lettuce, and carrots. Artichoke had the lowest mean liking, followed by onion and beets. We found children liked a wide variety of vegetables which offers counter evidence to the commonly held perception that children do not like vegetables.

Neural precursors of future liking and affective reciprocity

Why do certain group members end up liking each other more than others? How does affective reciprocity arise in human groups? The prediction of interpersonal sentiment has been a long-standing pursuit in the social sciences. We combined fMRI and longitudinal social network data to test whether newly acquainted group members' reward-related neural responses to images of one another's faces predict their future interpersonal sentiment, even many months later. Specifically, we analyze associations between relationship-specific valuation activity and relationship-specific future liking. We found that one's own future (T2) liking of a particular group member is predicted jointly by actor's initial (T1) neural valuation of partner and by that partner's initial (T1) neural valuation of actor. These actor and partner effects exhibited equivalent predictive strength and were robust when statistically controlling for each other, both individuals' initial liking, and other potential drivers of liking. Behavioral findings indicated that liking was initially unreciprocated at T1 yet became strongly reciprocated by T2. The emergence of affective reciprocity was partly explained by the reciprocal pathways linking dyad members' T1 neural data both to their own and to each other's T2 liking outcomes. These findings elucidate interpersonal brain mechanisms that define how we ultimately end up liking particular interaction partners, how group members' initially idiosyncratic sentiments become reciprocated, and more broadly, how dyads evolve. This study advances a flexible framework for researching the neural foundations of interpersonal sentiments and social relations that-conceptually, methodologically, and statistically-emphasizes group members' neural interdependence.

A Comparison of the Satiety Effects of a Fruit Smoothie, Its Fresh Fruit Equivalent and Other Drinks

Energy-containing liquids are claimed to have relatively low satiating power, although energy in liquids is not without effect on appetite. Using the preload test-meal method, effects on fullness and energy intake compensation were compared across four drinks (water, blackcurrant squash, milk and fruit smoothie) and the fresh fruit equivalent of the smoothie. Preload volumes were similar, and the energy value of each preload was 569 kJ, except for water (0 kJ). Healthy, adult participants rated the preloads for liking, enjoyment, satisfaction, familiarity and how ‘food-like’ they seemed. The preload to test-meal interval was 2 min (n = 23) or 2 h (n = 24). The effects of the preloads on fullness varied with food-likeness and the rate at which they were consumed. In contrast, energy intake compensation versus water did not differ between the energy-containing preloads, although it decreased over time (from 82% at 2 min to 12% at 2 h). In conclusion, although fullness increased with food-likeness, subsequent energy intake compensation did not differ for energy/nutrients consumed in drinks compared with a food. The results also support the proposal that food intake is influenced predominantly by the immediate, but rapidly waning, post-ingestive effects of the previous ‘meal’ (rather than by changes in energy balance).

Drivers of Preference and Perception of Freshness in Roasted Peanuts (Arachis spp.) for European Consumers

Roasted peanuts are a popular snack in Europe, but their drivers of liking and perceived freshness have not been previously studied with European consumers. Consumer research to date has been focused on U.S. consumers, and only on specific peanut cultivars. In this study, 26 unique samples were produced from peanuts of different types, cultivars, origins, and with different process technologies (including baking, frying, and maceration). The peanut samples were subjected to sensory (expert panel, Spectrum^TM ) and instrumental analysis (color, headspace volatiles, sugar profile, large deformation compression tests, and graded by size) and were hedonically rated by consumers in The Netherlands, Spain, and Turkey (n > 200 each). Preference Mapping (PREFMAP) on mean liking models revealed that the drivers of liking are similar across the three countries. Sweet taste, roasted peanut, dark roast, and sweet aromas and the color b^* value were related to increased liking, and raw bean aroma and bitter taste with decreased liking. Further partial least square regression (PLSR) modeling of liking and perceived freshness against instrumental attributes showed that the color coordinates in combination with sucrose content and a select few headspace volatiles were strong predictors of both preference and perceived freshness. Finally, additional PLSR models focusing on the headspace volatiles only showed that liking and ''fresh'' attributes were correlated with the presence of several pyrroles in the volatile fraction, and inversely related to ''stale'' and to hexanal and 2-heptanone.

PRACTICAL APPLICATION

This study provides insight into which flavor, taste, and appearance attributes drive liking and disliking of roasted peanuts for European consumers. The drivers are linked back to analytical attributes that can be measured instrumentally, thereby reducing the reliance on costly sensory panels. Particular emphasis is placed on color as a predictor of preference, because of the low cost of the measuring equipment, it is available to even smaller producers. In addition to preference, the study also examines whether product attributes that drive perceived freshness exist. The results can be used to design products with high acceptability across several countries within Europe.

The Influence of Adding Spices to Reduced Sugar Foods on Overall Liking

Abstract

Reducing sugar intake is a major public health goal but many consumers are reluctant to use low calorie sweeteners. Two studies were conducted in healthy adults aged 18 to 65 to investigate whether addition of culinary spices to foods reduced in sugar could preserve hedonic liking. Test foods, black tea, oatmeal, and apple crisp, were prepared in full sugar (FS), reduced sugar (RS), and reduced sugar with spice (RSS) versions. Sugar reductions were 100%, 35%, and 37% for tea, oatmeal, and apple crisp, respectively. In Study 1, 160 subjects rated absolute liking of FS, RS, and RSS versions of a breakfast of oatmeal and tea and an afternoon snack of apple crisp on consecutive weeks. In Study 2, 150 subjects rated relative liking of all 3 versions of one food at the same seating, with different foods tested 1 wk apart. Liking was assessed using a 9‐point Likert scale. Both studies yielded similar results. For all 3 test items, liking was significantly higher for FS than for RS (P < 0.03). For tea, addition of spices did not significantly improve liking in either study. For oatmeal, addition of spices did not consistently improve liking compared to RS. For apple crisp, relative liking of RSS was not different then FS. These results indicate that it is possible to preserve the hedonic pleasure of a reduced sugar version of a dessert food, apple crisp, by addition of culinary spices. This may be a promising strategy to reduce sugar in some foods without using low calorie sweeteners.

Practical Application

Reducing sugar consumption is an important public health goal. Many consumers are reluctant to use low calorie sweeteners and alternative approaches are needed. Using culinary spices to enhance the flavor of foods may allow sugar reduction while still preserving acceptable overall liking.

Art Expertise and the Processing of Titled Abstract Art

The effect of art expertise on viewers' processing of titled visual artwork was examined. The study extended the research of Leder, Carbon, and Ripsas by explicitly selecting art novices and art experts. The study was designed to test assumptions about how expertise modulates context in the form of titles for artworks. Viewers rated a set of abstract paintings for liking and understanding. The type of title accompanying the artwork (descriptive or elaborative) was manipulated. Viewers were allotted as much time as they wished to view each artwork. For judgments of liking, novices and experts both liked artworks with elaborative titles better, with overall rated liking similar for both groups. For judgments of understanding, type of title had no effect on ratings for both novices and experts. However, experts' rated understanding was higher than novices, with experts making their decisions faster than novices. An analysis of viewers' art expertise revealed that expertise was correlated with understanding, but not liking. Overall, the results suggest that both novices and experts integrate title with visual image in similar manner. However, expertise differentially affected liking and understanding. The results differ from those obtained by Leder et al. The differences between studies are discussed.

Disentangling the Sources of Mimicry: Social Relations Analyses of the Link Between Mimicry and Liking

Mimicry is an important interpersonal behavior for initiating and maintaining relationships. By observing the same participants ( N = 139) in multiple dyadic interactions (618 data points) in a round-robin design, we disentangled the extent to which mimicry is due to (a) the mimicker's general tendency to mimic (imitativity), (b) the mimickee's general tendency to evoke mimicry (imitatability), and (c) the unique dyadic relationship between the mimicker and the mimickee. We explored how these mimicry components affected liking and metaperceptions of liking (i.e., metaliking). Employing social relations models, we found substantial interindividual differences in imitativity, which predicted popularity. However, we found only small interindividual differences in imitatability. We found support for our proposition that mimicry is a substantially dyadic construct explained mostly by the unique relationship between two people. Finally, we explored the link between dyadic mimicry and liking, and we found that a person's initial liking of his or her interaction partner led to mimicry, which in turn increased the partner's liking of the mimicker.