Is classical music sweeter than jazz? Crossmodal influences of background music and taste/flavour on healthy and indulgent food preferences

Nature's beauty versus urban bustle: Chinese folk music influences food choices by inducing mental imagery of different scenes

Previous research has demonstrated that music can impact people's food choices by triggering emotional states. We reported two virtual reality (VR) experiments designed to examine how Chinese folk music influences people's food choices by inducing mental imagery of different scenes. In both experiments, young healthy Chinese participants were asked to select three dishes from an assortment of two meat and two vegetable dishes while listening to Chinese folk music that could elicit mental imagery of nature or urban scenes. The results of Experiment 1 revealed that they chose vegetable-forward meals more frequently while listening to Chinese folk music eliciting mental imagery of nature versus urban scenes. In Experiment 2, the participants were randomly divided into three groups, in which the prevalence of their mental imagery was enhanced, moderately suppressed, or strongly suppressed by performing different tasks while listening to the music pieces. We replicated the results of Experiment 1 when the participants' mental imagery was enhanced, whereas no such effect was observed when the participants' mental imagery was moderately or strongly suppressed. Collectively, these findings suggest that music may influence the food choices people make in virtual food choice tasks by inducing mental imagery, which provides insights into utilizing environmental cues to promote healthier food choices.

The Neural Correlates of Food Preference among Music Kinds

The calorie and taste choices of food have been shown to be related to the external environment, including music. Previous studies have mostly focused on manipulating basic auditory parameters, with few scholars exploring the impact of complex musical parameters on food selection. This study explored the effects of different kinds of music (classical, rock, jazz, and hip-hop) on food liking based on the calories (high and low) and taste (sweet and salty) using event-related potentials (ERPs). Twenty-four participants (8 males, 16 females) were recruited from Southwest University, China to participate in the food liking task using a Likert seven-point rating and simultaneously recording EEG signals (N2, P2, N3, and LPC). This study used repeated-measures analyses of covariances and found that the score of the high-calorie foods was greater than that of the low-calorie foods. Additionally, results revealed that the score in classical music was greatest for sweet foods, while there was no difference among music kinds in the salty foods. The ERP results showed that P2 amplitudes were greater for sweet foods than those for the salty foods. N2 amplitudes for the salty foods were greater than those for the sweet foods during rock music; in addition, N2 amplitudes during hip-hop music were greatest for sweet foods. However, N2 amplitudes during rock music were the greatest for salty foods. The results also revealed that N2 amplitudes during hip-hop music were greater than those during jazz music. This study provides unique operational insights for businesses.

Effects of Simulated Airplane Cabin Noise on In-Flight Meal Perception in the Brain Using Electroencephalography

Auditory distractions can impair the sensory evaluation of food; however, the specific impact of airplane cabin noise on the sensory perception of in-flight meals remains poorly studied. Here, we investigated the effects of airplane cabin noise on the visual processing of in-flight meal stimuli using electroencephalography (EEG) in twenty healthy male subjects. Resting-state EEG and event-related potential (ERP) responses to in-flight meal images were acquired during quiet and simulated cabin noise conditions. Participants reported mild discomfort and some loss of appetite when exposed to airplane cabin noise. The analysis of resting-state EEG showed an increase in the absolute power of theta and beta frequency bands in the left superior parietal and left frontal/right central regions under simulated cabin noise conditions, compared to quiet conditions. The ERP results showed that the amplitude of responses evoked by visual meal images in the superior parietal area was reduced in the noise condition compared to the quiet condition. Our findings suggest that airplane cabin noise disrupts the visual perception and attentional processing of in-flight food stimuli. These neural changes imply an impact on integrating sensory information, resulting in altered sensory evaluations of food during in-flight dining experiences.

Watch out for the healthy trap! How food flavor influences healthiness evaluations and consumption

Flavors are extensively used in food products to attract consumers, driving purchases successfully. But how do these flavors influence consumers' calorie estimation and healthiness evaluation? In a series of four behavioral experiments, we formally examine the effect of flavor information on consumer food healthiness evaluations and behavioral responses. We find that when a base food contains a healthy flavor (vs. unhealthy flavor), consumers perceive the food to be lower (vs. higher) in calories and healthier and are more likely to purchase such flavored food. In addition, such flavor-healthiness evaluation effect as a heuristic is attenuated when consumers are aware of this effect, and the indirect effect of calorie estimation on purchase intention is magnified among consumers with high dieting tendency. These findings shed light on how flavor information shapes consumers' responses to flavored food, contribute to food consumption-related literature, and provide practical implications for consumers and policymakers.

Marble melancholy: using crossmodal correspondences of shapes, materials, and music to predict music-induced emotions

Introduction

Music is known to elicit strong emotions in listeners, and, if primed appropriately, can give rise to specific and observable crossmodal correspondences. This study aimed to assess two primary objectives: (1) identifying crossmodal correspondences emerging from music-induced emotions, and (2) examining the predictability of music-induced emotions based on the association of music with visual shapes and materials.

Methods

To achieve this, 176 participants were asked to associate visual shapes and materials with the emotion classes of the Geneva Music-Induced Affect Checklist scale (GEMIAC) elicited by a set of musical excerpts in an online experiment.

Results

Our findings reveal that music-induced emotions and their underlying core affect (i.e., valence and arousal) can be accurately predicted by the joint information of musical excerpt and features of visual shapes and materials associated with these music-induced emotions. Interestingly, valence and arousal induced by music have higher predictability than discrete GEMIAC emotions.

Discussion

These results demonstrate the relevance of crossmodal correspondences in studying music-induced emotions. The potential applications of these findings in the fields of sensory interactions design, multisensory experiences and art, as well as digital and sensory marketing are briefly discussed.

Self-construal priming modulates sonic seasoning

Introduction

“Sonic seasoning” is when music influences the real taste experiences of consumers. “Self-construal” is how individuals perceive, understand, and interpret themselves. Numerous studies have shown that independent and interdependent self-construal priming can affect a person's cognition and behavior; however, their moderating effect on the sonic seasoning effect remains unclear.

Methods

This experiment was a 2 (self-construal priming: independent self-construal or interdependent self-construal) × 2 (chocolate: milk chocolate or dark chocolate) × 2 (emotional music: positive emotional music or negative emotional music) mixed design, and explored the moderating role of self-construal priming and the effect of emotional music on taste by comparing participants' evaluations of chocolates while listening to positive or negative music after different levels of self-construal priming.

Results

After initiating independent self-construal, participants increased their ratings of milk chocolate sweetness when listening to music that elicited positive emotions, t(32) = 3.11, p = 0.004, Cohen's d = 0.54, 95% CI = [0.33, 1.61]. In contrast, interdependent self-construal priming led participants to perceive dark chocolate as sweeter when they heard positive music, t(29) = 3.63, p = 0.001, Cohen's d = 0.66, 95%CI = [0.44, 1.56].

Discussion

This study provides evidence for improving people's individual eating experience and enjoyment of food.

Naturally green, irrationally lean: How background scenery affects calorie judgments

Extant research has found that the addition of vegetables to a meal induces a "health halo," thereby lowering the perceived calorie content of the entire dish. We investigated whether environmental stimuli that convey naturalness could trigger such a halo effect. Specifically, we tested whether meals accompanied by a natural, as opposed to an urban, background scenery were estimated to be lower in their calorie content and whether this effect was moderated by the perceived healthiness of the food alternatives. In a mixed (between-within-subjects) design experiment, 200 participants estimated the calorie content and rated the healthiness of 18 complex meals presented against either a natural or an urban background. Our results showed no main effect of the food rating background. However, there was a negative relationship between inferred food healthiness and the estimated calorie content of the meals. In addition, we found a significant interaction between food rating background and inferred healthiness of the evaluated food alternatives. Specifically, when participants evaluated meals against a natural background, they rated relatively unhealthy food alternatives as lower in calories than when they evaluated such alternatives against an urban background. Overall, our results highlight the moderating role of perceived food healthiness in studying the effects of environmental cues on consumers' calorie judgments.

How do ethnically congruent music and meal drive food choices?

Playing ethnic music in restaurants increases consumer experience. Studies show, furthermore, that ethnic congruence of music and food affects food selection but not the liking of customers. An eye-tracking study was completed with 104 participants to uncover if there is an effect of ethnic music on selecting ethnic foods. German, Hungarian, Italian, and Spanish ethnic music was played while participants choose congruent starters, main dishes, and desserts. Results show that visual attention decreased when any background music was played. However, when played, the highest visual attention was recorded during Spanish music. Similarly, the most visual attention was recorded on Spanish dishes. Food choice frequencies showed no differences among the four nations. However, after aggregating German-Hungarian and Italian-Spanish music and dishes, it turned out that participants chose congruent music and food. Choice predictions were also completed on data with and without ethnic music. The performance of prediction models significantly increased when music was played. These findings highlight a clear link between music and food choices, and that music helped participants complete their choices and decide faster.