Celebration Colloquium - Michelson, Amey, Bulaga - Psychology

Does Fat-Free Equal Flavor-Free?: Label Influence on Taste Perception - Research has repeatedly indicated that positive conceptual information can alter preferences for certain products, particularly food. In the present study, we investigated whether positive conceptual information (i.e., labels) would also influence taste sensitivity. Participants were presented with regular vanilla ice cream that was labeled either "regular" or "reduced fat" and were then asked to rate the overall flavor, richness, and intensity of the 5 basic tastes. We predicted that participants exposed to the "regular"-labeled ice cream would rate the overall flavor and richness as stronger than those exposed to the "reduced fat"-labeled ice cream, indicating an influence of positive conceptual information on perceived taste. In addition, this study explored the effects of time on cognitive influence of taste perception by having participants rate the ice cream either immediately or following a 10 minute delay. We predicted that participants who rated the product immediately would show greater rating contrast between the regular and reduced fat labels than those who delayed ratings for 10 minutes.

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• psychology