Effects of Visual Priming on Taste-Odor Interaction
Author Information
Author(s): Marije van Beilen, Harold Bult, Remco Renken, Markus Stieger, Stefan Thumfart, Frans Cornelissen, Valesca Kooijman
Primary Institution: Top Institute Food and Nutrition, Wageningen, The Netherlands
Hypothesis
Visual context, specifically the recognizability of visual information, influences flavor perception of odorized sweet beverages.
Conclusion
The degree of recognizability of visual information affects flavor perception differently, with figurative images enhancing sweetness ratings more than non-figurative images.
Supporting Evidence
- Participants rated sweetness higher when exposed to figurative images compared to non-figurative images.
- Sweetness ratings were significantly higher for strawberry-flavored stimuli compared to caramel-flavored stimuli.
- Visual context priming was shown to have both sustained and transient effects on sweetness perception.
Takeaway
When you see pictures of sweet foods, it can make drinks taste sweeter, especially if the pictures look like the food.
Methodology
Participants rated the perceived sweetness of odorized sucrose solutions in the presence or absence of congruent or incongruent visual contexts.
Potential Biases
Participants may have experienced response biases due to the limited attributes available for rating sweetness.
Limitations
The study's findings may be influenced by the range of sweetness ratings participants were exposed to before the experimental trials.
Participant Demographics
Forty-eight healthy participants (mean age 23.4, SD 4.8, range 19–54 years, 20 male).
Statistical Information
P-Value
p<0.001
Statistical Significance
p<0.05
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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