Maggioni, Emanuela, Risso, Paola, Olivero, Nadia and Gallace, Alberto (2015) The effect of a container's weight on the perception of mineral water. Journal of Sensory Studies, 30 (5). pp. 395-403. ISSN 0887-8250

PDF - Published Version Restricted to SRO admin only Download (397kB)

Abstract

In the last few years, psychologists and neuroscientists have increasingly investigated the presence of multisensory interactions in people’s perceptions of
food and beverage. For example, the results of a recent questionnaire-based study showed that wine is believed to be more expensive and of better quality when contained in a heavier bottle. However, it remains unclear whether various foods or liquids share similar multisensory associations in the mind of the consumer. In a laboratory study, we investigated the multisensory interactions between the taste of mineral water and the weight of the plastic cup in which it is served. The participants evaluated the freshness, pleasantness, level of carbonation, and lightness of two types of mineral water (i.e., still and carbonated) using visual analogue scales. The water was served in three identical plastic cups, varying only in terms of their weight (i.e., light, medium, and heavy). The results showed that when a heavier cup was used, the participants perceived the mineral water as less pleasant. By contrast, they rated the water served in heavier cups as more carbonated than water served in lighter cups. These data demonstrate that
crossmodal associations in taste perception depend on the category of the product being evaluated and the specific quality that is rated. Such findings are extremely
important for understanding the role of sensory interaction in food evaluation as well as encouraging healthier eating and drinking behaviors.

Item Type:	Article
Schools and Departments:	School of Engineering and Informatics > Informatics
Subjects:	B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BF Psychology > BF0180 Experimental psychology
Depositing User:	Emanuela Maggioni
Date Deposited:	01 Jun 2016 08:55
Last Modified:	08 Mar 2017 13:16
URI:	http://srodev.sussex.ac.uk/id/eprint/61224

View download statistics for this item

📧 Request an update