Images and chocolate stimuli affect physiological and affective responses of consumers: A cross-cultural study

Abstract

Sensory evaluation relies on explicit responses from consumers. Unconscious responses may complement the information regarding the emotional states of consumers. In this study, physiological, facial expression and sensory/emotional responses to different visual (images) and chocolate stimuli were evaluated using two groups (participants with Asian and Western backgrounds). Panellists (N = 60; 60% Asian-background and 40% Western-background) evaluated 15 images (5-positive/5-neutral/5-negative) and 4 chocolate samples (milk/60%-cocoa/70%-cocoa/candy-inclusions). Consumers assessed their emotions (3-point scale) and liking (9-point scale). Non-invasive peripheral skin temperature (ST), heart r..