How do you express pleasure or displeasure when evaluating the quality of food? How would you describe the taste? Do you simply say, “Hmm?”
Italian researchers have developed a new technique that allows them to directly measure emotional responses, cutting out the middleman. Although the technology was designed for coffee, it could potentially be used for other foods and drinks as well.
How can technology measure emotional responses to coffee?
Researchers have developed a technique to assess people's emotional responses to coffee. Traditionally, consumer acceptance and preference tests have been an inaccurate way to assess the taste appeal of consumables such as coffee.
Traditional methods of assessing consumer emotion, such as asking consumers to describe their emotions, have been controversial in the past due to potential cognitive biases.
Wait for technology to enter this field. We used wearable non-invasive ECG, EDA, and EEG technology on trained coffee tasters to test their emotions. Similar to a regular testing panel, judges were asked to rate each coffee they tasted.
After analyzing the data from this device, the researchers discovered that they were not contradictory and could actually work together to test a person's reaction to the taste of coffee. We also found that the three analysis methods (two physical and one looking at brain activity) complement each other well, and all three provide a more complete picture of the wearer's reactions. Ta.
This data also worked well with the sensory responses recorded by tasters. For example, even visual stimuli such as the color of coffee, an important aspect influencing emotional responses, were found to increase EDA signals.
Interestingly, stronger or more intense odors were found to stimulate both a greater somatic (physical) response and more cognitive resources devoted to the drinking experience.
Additionally, tasters were found to have a more positive response to sourness when the familiar taste included sourness.
Overall, although the sample was very small as a pilot study, this study proves that the combination of ECG, EDA, and EEG technology can complement sensory questionnaires in assessing consumer responses to coffee. I fulfilled my role.
Potential uses
This research has major implications for neuromarketing and could lead to the development of coffee that is more emotionally satisfying for consumers.
But it doesn't end with coffee. “We are currently conducting other studies on different biological matrices related to food and beverages, for example certain wines,” said Lucia Biresi, one of the researchers.
