Happy Hour? A Preliminary Study of the Effect of Induced Joviality and Sadness on Beer Perception

Abstract

Our emotions influence our perception. In order to determine whether emotion influences the perception of beer, 32 participants watched either a scene from the movie Wall-E to induce joviality, or a short clip from the Shawshank Redemption to induce sadness. The participants were then required to sample up to 250 mL of Yenda Pale Ale beer and rate it on a variety of taste and flavor characteristics (e.g., bitterness), before completing the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule-X (PANAS-X). The data were analyzed using Bayesian t-tests and Null Hypothesis Significance Tests (NHSTs). After applying conservative corrections for multiple comparisons, NHSTs failed to reach statistical significance. However, the effect sizes suggested that inducing joviality, relative to inducing sadness, resulted in the beer being rated as (a) tasting more pleasant, (b) tasting sweeter, and (c) being of higher quality. Following the induction of joviality, participants were also willing to pay more for the beer. The Bayesian analyses indicated that induced emotion can influence flavor perception for complex taste stimuli. The effect sizes and Bayesian analyses are interpreted in terms of Feelings-as-Information theory. These preliminary findings can tentatively be applied to real-world environments such as venues that serve and/or market alcohol.

A Preliminary Investigation of the Effect of Ethical Labeling and Moral Self-Image on the Expected and Perceived Flavor and Aroma of Beer

“…Here, reading positively-framed vignettes (e.g., making a good beer or contributing to the community) may have primed people (consciously or unconsciously) to feel good about themselves (hold positive feelings about how moral they are), and this information may have been used as a source of information in judgments of the beer (those people who feel positive will rate the beer more positively, i.e., as being more refreshing). Clearly this explanation is speculative, but it is consistent with evidence showing that a manipulated mood impacts beer taste perception [39].…”

“…Second, pleasantness of taste and aftertaste, quality, and willingness-to-pay are all global valence judgements which have been used in previous research [6]. Past research [39] has established that participants are able to evaluate the global (e.g., pleasantness) and specific (e.g., sweetness) characteristics of beer uniquely.…”

Promoting Healthier Drinking Habits: Using Sound to Encourage the Choice for Non-Alcoholic Beers in E-Commerce

“…Previous research has also shown that when consumers are induced into negative emotions (e.g., via music or movie clips), they tend to perceive a beer’s flavor as more alcoholic, less sweet, and/or more bitter [ 38 , 39 ]. In Experiment 1, the auditory conditions that participants reported as the most negative were the low-frequency/low-pressure can-opening/can-pouring ones.…”

Modeling the value-based decision to consume alcohol in response to emotional experiences

“…Positive emotions are multifaceted and can include states such as joviality, serenity, and engagement. Although positive emotions have traditionally been treated as a uniform state, it may be easier to induce and focus on specific facets of positive emotions which may be most strongly connected to alcohol use (Desira et al, 2020). Ultimately, we believe that rigorously testing positive reinforcement of alcohol use as value-based decision-making may be even more important than negative reinforcement due to the robust effect of positive affect on alcohol use in everyday life (Dora et al, 2022a).…”