A bittersweet symphony: Evidence for taste‐sound correspondences without effects on taste quality‐specific perception

Abstract

Music has been associated with taste and shown to influence the dining experience. We asked whether sound that is associated with taste affects taste perception of food. In two studies (study 1: N = 20, 13 women; study 2: N = 20, 17 women), participants evaluated the taste of cinder toffee while listening to either of two soundscapes associated with sweet and bitter taste, respectively, or no sound. In study 1, participants rated the taste on a visual-analog scale (VAS) anchored with "bitter" and "sweet", aiming to replicate a previous study (Crisinel et al., ). In contrast, four separate scales were used in study 2 to report the extent of bitter, sweet, sour, and salty taste to test whether taste qualities were influenced by sound differentially. Additionally, taste intensity and pleasantness were rated in both studies. Taste intensity was increased in the presence of a sound, while pleasantness was not affected. In study 1, sound shifted bitter-sweet ratings in the direction of the congruent sound, i.e. samples tasted sweeter with "sweet" sound and more bitter with "bitter" sound, replicating Crisinel et al.'s () results. However, this effect was abolished when a "no-sound" control was included in the statistical model. Taste ratings in study 2 showed no effect of sound on any specific taste quality, suggesting that the influence of sound on taste in study 1 reflects an artifact of the scale rather than an actual shift in perception. Together, the data provide evidence for taste-sound correspondences without effects on taste-quality specific perception.

Sweeter together? Assessing the combined influence of product‐related and contextual factors on perceived sweetness of fruit beverages

“…Crucially, the participants rated the cinder toffee samples higher on the sweet-bitter scale 1 (i.e., more sweet and less bitter) while listening to the sweet soundtrack 1 It should be noted that the practice of putting two tastes on the same scale (i.e., a sweet-bitter scale) is not regularly used in food sensory science because of the potential for confusing panelists/participants. This might account for the failure to replicate Crisinel's original study by Höchenberger and Ohla (2018). than while listening to the bitter soundtrack.…”

“…It should be noted that the practice of putting two tastes on the same scale (i.e., a sweet‐bitter scale) is not regularly used in food sensory science because of the potential for confusing panelists/participants. This might account for the failure to replicate Crisinel's original study by Höchenberger and Ohla ().…”

Extrinsic Auditory Contributions to Food Perception & Consumer Behaviour: an Interdisciplinary Review

“…Interesting questions here concern where such surprising correspondences come from 11 , and the conditions under which corresponding/congruent versus incongruent (or no music) influences the tasting experience (e.g., Hauck & Hecht, 2019;Höchenberger & Ohla, 2019;Spence & Deroy, 2013a;Watson & Gunter, 2017).…”

Wine psychology: basic & applied

“…However, the last decade or two has seen a veritable growth of interest in the matching of music and wine, and the crossmodal influence of the former on the latter (see , 2015c. Such sonic seasoning or oenosthesia research has run in parallel to an emerging body of laboratory research documenting first that people intuitively match basic tastes, such as sweet, sour, bitter, and salty with particular musical attributes, and thereafter that playing music (or soundscapes) with matching or mismatching sonic properties can influence people's ratings of the taste/flavour of a variety of foods (e.g., Bronner, Bruhn, Hirt, & Piper, 2012;Crisinel & Spence, 2010Hauck & Hecht, 2019;Höchenberger & Ohla, 2019;Knöferle et al, 2015;Kontukoski et al, 2015;Mesz, Sigman, & Trevisan, 2012;Mesz, Trevisan, & Sigman, 2011;Simner, Cuskley, & Kirby, 2010).…”