Author
Betina Piqueras-Fiszman
Other affiliations: University of Oxford, Polytechnic University of Valencia
Bio: Betina Piqueras-Fiszman is an academic researcher from Wageningen University and Research Centre. The author has contributed to research in topics: Food choice & Perception. The author has an hindex of 35, co-authored 83 publications receiving 3330 citations. Previous affiliations of Betina Piqueras-Fiszman include University of Oxford & Polytechnic University of Valencia.
Topics: Food choice, Perception, Cutlery, Population, Novelty
Papers
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TL;DR: A review of the literature on the effects of expectations on the sensory perception of food and drink by humans can be found in this paper, where the authors evaluate the evidence that has emerged from both laboratory studies and real-world research conducted in the setting of the restaurant, canteen and bar.
529 citations
Book•
10 Jul 2014
TL;DR: The authors argue that the authors must go beyond four or five individual taste sensations to focus on the interaction of multisensory experiences as it is here that flavour emerges and show how a host of sensory elements ranging from the colour of the plate to the frequency of concurrent sounds all affect the ways they perceive flavour.
Abstract: The central idea behind this book is deceptively simple: that our perception of flavour is multisensory. Consequently, to serve up great tasting food is not simply a matter of tickling the taste buds but of engaging a whole range of sensory experiences. Drawing on recent innovative research carried out by Spence’s team at the Crossmodal Research Laboratory at Oxford University, the authors argue that we must go beyond four or five individual taste sensations (which respond to particular sensory nodes on the tongue) to focus on the interaction of multisensory experiences as it is here that flavour emerges. They show how a host of sensory elements ranging from the colour of the plate to the frequency of concurrent sounds all affect the ways we perceive flavour. Spence and his team have published prolifically on the topic, and ‘The Perfect Meal’ is evidence of a wider aim to encourage those in the food industry to think about eating as a multisensory experience and therefore allow professionals to better deliver positive results to diners and consumers. Rather than looking at food itself the focus is on the particular performance of fine dining, shrouded in the mystery and spectacle that comes along with the molecular gastronomy oeuvre made famous by Heston Blumenthal or restaurants such as El Bulli. By engaging directly with this trend the authors ‘hope that chefs would want to find out more about how changing the aroma of a food (by adding the aroma of strawberry or vanilla, say) can change its perceived sweetness and how changing the colour of a food or beverages can send a very powerful signal to the diner’s brain about the likely taste and flavour they are about to experience’ (p. 22). Affiliating themselves with the recent term ‘gastrophysics’, this new, high-tech ‘science of the table’ uses ‘well controlled experiments’ to ‘investigate the way in which people... respond to sensory stimuli’ (p. 18) The physical responses that taste experiences elicit in us offer a potentially powerful tool in the context of the food industry by offering the scope to manipulate our experiences of food in much more precise and fundamental ways. Throughout the book the authors methodically build a case for the inclusion of a number of elements in the multisensory perception of taste. In Chapters 2, 3, 4 and 5, they elaborate the role that different devices employed in restaurants can play in enhancing a meal. Addressing in turn the start of the meal (the menu, setting of the tables, waiters, etc.), the language and labelling used on the menu, the plate itself and the cutlery, these chapters summarize the latest research to show how these various elements affect the way we perceive flavour. A prominent example from the authors’ own research is the finding that a dessert on a round white plate tasted up Int. Jrnl. of Soc. of Agr. & Food, Vol. 22, No. 2, pp. 129–131
231 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors investigated the influence of the color (black or white) and shape of the plate on the perception of flavor intensity, sweetness, quality, and liking for identical strawberry mousse desserts.
211 citations
TL;DR: The results demonstrated that certain elements of the product packaging can be used to drive visual attention to one element or another; for instance, the ridged surface of certain jars contributed to spread the gaze; however, an important part of the associations that these formats elicited were related to the ridges or to unusualness of the packaging, suggesting that these “secondary” stimuli also captured attention.
179 citations
TL;DR: Investigating consumers' crossmodal associations between the color of packaging and flavor varieties in crisps revealed that consumers responded more slowly, and made more errors, when they had to pair the color and flavor that they implicitly thought of as being "incongruent" with the same response key.
131 citations
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Journal Article•
TL;DR: Thaler and Sunstein this paper described a general explanation of and advocacy for libertarian paternalism, a term coined by the authors in earlier publications, as a general approach to how leaders, systems, organizations, and governments can nudge people to do the things the nudgers want and need done for the betterment of the nudgees, or of society.
Abstract: NUDGE: IMPROVING DECISIONS ABOUT HEALTH, WEALTH, AND HAPPINESS by Richard H. Thaler and Cass R. Sunstein Penguin Books, 2009, 312 pp, ISBN 978-0-14-311526-7This book is best described formally as a general explanation of and advocacy for libertarian paternalism, a term coined by the authors in earlier publications. Informally, it is about how leaders, systems, organizations, and governments can nudge people to do the things the nudgers want and need done for the betterment of the nudgees, or of society. It is paternalism in the sense that "it is legitimate for choice architects to try to influence people's behavior in order to make their lives longer, healthier, and better", (p. 5) It is libertarian in that "people should be free to do what they like - and to opt out of undesirable arrangements if they want to do so", (p. 5) The built-in possibility of opting out or making a different choice preserves freedom of choice even though people's behavior has been influenced by the nature of the presentation of the information or by the structure of the decisionmaking system. I had never heard of libertarian paternalism before reading this book, and I now find it fascinating.Written for a general audience, this book contains mostly social and behavioral science theory and models, but there is considerable discussion of structure and process that has roots in mathematical and quantitative modeling. One of the main applications of this social system is economic choice in investing, selecting and purchasing products and services, systems of taxes, banking (mortgages, borrowing, savings), and retirement systems. Other quantitative social choice systems discussed include environmental effects, health care plans, gambling, and organ donations. Softer issues that are also subject to a nudge-based approach are marriage, education, eating, drinking, smoking, influence, spread of information, and politics. There is something in this book for everyone.The basis for this libertarian paternalism concept is in the social theory called "science of choice", the study of the design and implementation of influence systems on various kinds of people. The terms Econs and Humans, are used to refer to people with either considerable or little rational decision-making talent, respectively. The various libertarian paternalism concepts and systems presented are tested and compared in light of these two types of people. Two foundational issues that this book has in common with another book, Network of Echoes: Imitation, Innovation and Invisible Leaders, that was also reviewed for this issue of the Journal are that 1 ) there are two modes of thinking (or components of the brain) - an automatic (intuitive) process and a reflective (rational) process and 2) the need for conformity and the desire for imitation are powerful forces in human behavior. …
3,435 citations
TL;DR: A review of the literature on the effects of expectations on the sensory perception of food and drink by humans can be found in this paper, where the authors evaluate the evidence that has emerged from both laboratory studies and real-world research conducted in the setting of the restaurant, canteen and bar.
529 citations
TL;DR: The empirical review focuses especially on color in achievement and affiliation/attraction contexts, but it also covers work on consumer behavior as well as food and beverage evaluation and consumption and conduct a review of emerging empirical findings.
Abstract: Color is a ubiquitous perceptual stimulus that is often considered in terms of aesthetics. Here we review theoretical and empirical work that looks beyond color aesthetics to the link between color and psychological functioning in humans. We begin by setting a historical context for research in this area, particularly highlighting methodological issues that hampered earlier empirical work. We proceed to overview theoretical and methodological advances during the past decade and conduct a review of emerging empirical findings. Our empirical review focuses especially on color in achievement and affiliation/attraction contexts, but it also covers work on consumer behavior as well as food and beverage evaluation and consumption. The review clearly shows that color can carry important meaning and can have an important impact on people's affect, cognition, and behavior. The literature remains at a nascent stage of development, however, and we note that considerable work on boundary conditions, moderators, and r...
493 citations
28 Feb 2018
TL;DR: The following bibliography is conceived as a selection of international literature on food as heritage and as a marker of identity within the huge amount of works recently produced on the topic of food as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: The following bibliography is conceived as a selection of international literature on food as heritage and as a marker of identity within the huge amount of works recently produced on the topic of food. The bibliography has been produced within the “Food as heritage” project, performed at University of Bologna and coordinated by Ilaria Porciani, with a team composed by Massimo Montanari, Paolo Capuzzo, Raffaele Laudani and Marica Tolomelli. “Food as heritage” is part of a wider projec...
472 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors reviewed the scientific evidence related to visual, auditory, tactile, olfactory, and gustatory aspects of the store environment and their influence on the consumer's shopping behavior.
Abstract: Store atmospherics affect consumer behavior. This message has created a revolution in sensory marketing techniques, such that across virtually every product category, retailers and manufacturers seek to influence the consumer's “sensory experience.” The key question is how should a company design its multisensory atmospherics in store to ensure that the return on its investment is worthwhile? This paper reviews the scientific evidence related to visual, auditory, tactile, olfactory, and gustatory aspects of the store environment and their influence on the consumer's shopping behavior. The findings emphasize the need for further research to address how the multisensory retail environment shapes customer experience and shopping behavior.
375 citations