Effects of olfactory dysfunction on sensory evaluation and preparation of foods

Reducing sweetness expectation in milk tea by crossmodal visuo-auditory interaction

In the realm of healthy dietary choices about reducing sweetness perception, the exploration of crossmodal effects stands as a frequently employed approach. Both music and color can independently influence flavor evaluation and gustatory experience by eliciting emotions. However, less research has been done on the effects of audio-visual crossmodal interactions on sweetness expectations and perceptions. The present study conducted two experiments delving into the crossmodal effect on sweetness expectation and perception of milk tea by manipulating the emotional valence of music and packaging color. The results showed that positive (vs. negative) music led to higher sweetness expectations and perceptions for milk teas with neutral packaging color. Irrespective of music, participants had higher sweetness expectations for milk tea with positive or neutral (vs. negative) packaging colors. The congruence of valence between music and packaging color influenced sweetness perception. Positive (vs. negative) music correlated with a sweeter perception when the packaging color was positive. Exposed to negative music, subjects showed a higher sweetness perception with negative (vs. positive) packaging colors. In conclusion, the results suggest that the valence of music and packaging color crossmodally influence consumers' evaluation of milk tea, and it differs depending on whether it was tasted. Thus, this study has demonstrated the crossmodal influence of music and packaging color, providing valuable implications for healthy eating and marketing applications.

Effect of Scents on Gazing Behavior and Choice

Environmental stimuli can have a significant impact on our decisions. Elements of the store atmosphere, such as music, lights and smells, all have effects on choices, but these have been only vaguely investigated. In the present study, we aim to uncover the effect of strawberry scent on the gazing behavior and choices of the 62 recruited participants. A static eye-tracker was used to study the effect of scent, released by a diffuser. In total, 31 participants completed the study under odorless conditions, while another 31 participants had strawberry fragrance sprayed into the air. The objectives of the study were (1) to determine whether the most gazed-upon product in each of the four categories (chocolate, tea, muesli bar, yoghurt) was chosen, (2) whether the presence of the strawberry scent influenced consumer decision making, i.e., whether the strawberry scent influenced more people to choose strawberry-flavored products, and (3) to introduce the application of a fast and easy-to-use technique for the qualitative analysis of strawberry aroma present in the air during eye-tracking measurements. The results show that (1) participants chose the product they had studied the longest, for all four categories, and (2) the presence or absence of the scent had no significant effect on choice, with the same frequencies of choosing each product in the two conditions regardless of the flavor of the products.

You Eat How You Think: A Review on the Impact of Cognitive Styles on Food Perception and Behavior

Sensory perception is understood to be a complex area of research that requires investigations from a variety of different perspectives. Although researchers have tried to better understand consumers’ perception of food, one area that has been minimally explored is how psychological cognitive theories can help them explain consumer perceptions, behaviors, and decisions in food-related experiences. The concept of cognitive styles has existed for nearly a century, with the majority of cognitive style theories existing along a continuum with two bookends. Some of the more common theories such as individualist-collectivist, left-brain-right-brain, and convergent-divergent theories each offered their own unique insight into better understanding consumer behavior. However, these theories often focused only on niche applications or on specific aspects of cognition. More recently, the analytic-holistic cognitive style theory was developed to encompass many of these prior theoretical components and apply them to more general cognitive tendencies of individuals. Through applying the analytic-holistic theory and focusing on modern cultural psychology work, this review may allow researchers to be able to answer one of the paramount questions of sensory and consumer sciences: how and why do consumers perceive and respond to food stimuli the way that they do?

Should Panelists Refrain from Wearing a Personal Fragrance Prior to Sensory Evaluation? The Effect of Using Perfume on Olfactory Performance

It is typically recommended that panelists should refrain from wearing personal fragrances, such as perfume or cologne, prior to sensory evaluation. Interestingly, no study has been reported as to whether panelists’ perceptions of test samples could be affected by personal fragrances worn by themselves. The objective of this study was, therefore, to determine the effect of such a personal fragrance on olfactory performance. Nineteen untrained participants were screened, recruited for, and underwent the Sniffin’ Sticks test designed for measuring olfactory performances that included the odor threshold, discrimination, and identification (TDI). The olfactory performance tasks were conducted under three fragrance level conditions: (1) control (no fragrance), (2) just-about-right (JAR), and (3) excessive, with a preliminary study used to identify both the JAR and excessive fragrance levels. The results showed that the odor discrimination, odor threshold, and combined TDI performances were significantly lowered in the two conditions with the perfume fragrance, while the odor identification performance exhibited no significant differences across all three conditions. These findings provide empirical evidence that even low to moderate levels of personal fragrance can significantly reduce individuals’ olfactory capabilities, possibly subsequently altering the perception of test samples during sensory evaluation.

Blending Emotions and Cross-Modality in Sonic Seasoning: Towards Greater Applicability in the Design of Multisensory Food Experiences

Sonic seasoning refers to the way in which music can influence multisensory tasting experiences. To date, the majority of the research on sonic seasoning has been conducted in Europe or the USA, typically in a within-participants experimental context. In the present study, we assessed the applicability of sonic seasoning in a large-scale between-participants setting in Asia. A sample of 1611 participants tasted one sample of chocolate while listening to a song that evoked a specific combination of cross-modal and emotional consequences. The results revealed that the music’s emotional character had a more prominent effect than its cross-modally corresponding attributes on the multisensory tasting experience. Participants expressed a higher buying intention for the chocolate and rated it as having a softer texture when listening to mainly positive (as compared to mainly negative) music. The chocolates were rated as having a more intense flavor amongst those participants listening to ‘softer’ as compared to ‘harder’ music. Therefore, the present study demonstrates that music is capable of triggering a combination of specific cross-modal and emotional effects in the multisensory tasting experience of a chocolate.

Attitudes toward Olfaction: A Cross-regional Study

This study aimed to determine whether there are regional influences on attitudes toward olfaction. A total of 1082 participants aged 21-50 years from 4 different regions (Mexican, Korean, Czech, and German) were asked to rate general attitudes toward olfaction in everyday life. To examine affective attitudes to odors (i.e., pleasantness), participants were also asked to list 3 odors as being the most pleasant or unpleasant, respectively. Next, the mentioned odor names were attributed to 1 of 4 main categories: "Food & Drink," "Social relationship," "Nature," and "Civilization" and the distribution of these categories was compared across regions. Mexicans were significantly different to the other regions in their general attitudes toward olfaction. In addition, in all regions, in comparison with men, women indicated a higher interest in the sense of smell. Moreover, a significant positive correlation was present between individuals' self-rating of olfactory sensitivity and general attitudes toward olfaction. Finally, there were significant cross-regional differences in affective attitudes toward specific categories of odors. In conclusion, our findings support and extend the notion that regions affect attitudes toward the olfactory world.

Eating without a nose: olfactory dysfunction and sensory-specific satiety

Odor stimuli play an important role in the perception of food flavor. Olfactory dysfunction is thus likely to affect eating behavior. In the present study, we hypothesized that dysfunctional olfactory perception promotes sensory-specific satiety, a decrease in pleasure derived from a certain test food during and shortly after its consumption relative to other unconsumed control foods. A total of 34 hyposmic/anosmic participants were compared with 29 normosmic control participants. All participants repeatedly consumed a fixed portion of one and the same food item, a procedure known to induce sensory satiation. We found evidence for sensory-specific satiety (SSS) regardless of olfactory function. It thus appears that olfactory deficits have no major effect on SSS.