The document summarizes an experiment that tested whether visual stimuli can influence taste perception. Participants were shown bottles labeled as different flavored waters and asked to taste samples from each bottle. Unbeknownst to participants, all samples were plain water. Ratings of perceived taste intensity were significantly above zero, indicating visual cues influenced participants to taste flavors that were not actually present. Significant differences in ratings between specific flavor pairs also showed some flavors were perceived as stronger. Ratings between male and female participants did not significantly differ. The results supported the hypothesis that visual stimuli can influence taste perception.

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SOUTHWESTM I N N E S O T A S T A T E U N I V E R S I T Y
The Effect of Visual Stimuli on Taste Perception
Tyler Flud, Dave Lien, Kelsey Lee
Southwest Minnesota State University
Results Conclusion
References
Introduction
Abstract
Survey
Materials and Methods
Acknowledgement
Throughout history, countless studies have been conducted on
our perception of taste, trying to answer questions like how it
works, what we taste, and if other physical senses can influence
taste in some way. The goal of our experiment was to see if our
perception of taste can be influenced by visual stimuli. In the
experiment, participants are shown four different bottles labeled
as flavored water being poured into cups. They are then asked to
taste the water in each cup and rate the strength of each flavor.
But, what the participants are not told is that each bottle labeled
as flavored water is actually filled with only plain water. Will
seeing the flavored water labels on the bottles being poured
actually make them perceive a taste other than plain water in the
cups? Our hypothesis is that participants’ perception of taste will
be influenced by the visual stimuli.
According to Zellner and Durlach (2003, evidence is
accumulating that stimulating one sense can influence perception
in another. In particular, color influences the perceived intensity of
the taste and smell of beverages. In their research, they found
that by changing the color of the beverage, it could change the
perceived sweetness and intensity of the liquid. Zellner et al. also
stated that the color could also affect how refreshing a beverage
is perceived to be. For example, clear liquids were perceived to
be the most refreshing, likely due to their resemblance to water.
Another example of color affecting taste was demonstrated by
Alley and Alley, (1998), who stated that the color red may
increase how sweet a liquid was found. In a test, inexperienced
wine drinkers and experienced wine tasters were given different
colored wines. The inexperienced tasters did not notice any
difference taste in the wine due to the color, while the
experienced tasted stated that a light red, similar to a rose wine,
tasted sweeter. It turned out that all the samples were the same
kind of wine, just food coloring had been added. This shows that
we learn to associate certain colors with certain tastes.
An example of this was also demonstrated by Ndom, Elegbeleye,
and Ademoroti (2011), who stated that the association of certain
colors with foods begins in early childhood. In an experiment,
Ndom et al. discovered that if a subject was always able to see
the color of a drink, they could identify it accurately, however, if
they could not see the color, they would often make mistakes.
This demonstrates how important sight is to taste perception.
Alley, R. L., & Alley, T. R. (1998). The influence of physical state and
color on perceived sweetness. The Journal of Psychology, 132(5),
561-568.
Ndom, R. J. E., Elegbeleye, A. O., & Ademoroti, A. O. (2011). The effect
of colour on the perception of taste, quality and preference of fruit
flavored drinks. Ife Psycholgia, 192), 167-189.
Small, D. (2008, April 2). How does the way food looks or its smell
influence taste? Retrieved October 14, 2015, from
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/experts-how-does- sight-
smell-affect-taste/
Spence, C., Levitan, C. A., Shankar, M. U., & Zampini, M. (2010). Does
food color influence taste and flavor perception in human?
Chemosensory Perception, 3(1), 68-84.
doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s12078-010-9067-z
Zellner, D. A., & Durlach, P. (2003). Effect of color on expected and
experienced refreshment, intensity, and liking of beverages. The
American Journal of Psychology, 116(4), 633-647. Retrieved from
http://search.proquest.com/docview/224836314?accountid=28768
Survey Questions for Taste Perception Experiment:
Gender (Circle One): Male Female
Please rate the following flavors based on strength (0 = no flavor, 10 =
extreme flavor)
Lime
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Raspberry
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Blueberry
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Orange
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Which flavor(s) did you taste?
Lime Raspberry
Blueberry Orange
Which flavor do you prefer?
Lime Raspberry
Blueberry Orange
Materials:
•Lime Flavored Water Bottle
•Raspberry Flavored Water Bottle
•Blueberry Flavored Water Bottle
•Orange Flavored Water Bottle
•Oyster Crackers
•Cups
•Plain, unflavored water
The participants for this project were volunteers who
agreed to participate in the study while it was set up, with
permission, in a busy hallway, below the library, at SMSU.
Participants who agreed to the study, had the option to receive
results and information about the experiment once it was
complete.
On the table, there were the four flavored water bottles.
Each of the water bottles had thoroughly been cleaned out and
unflavored, regular water had been put in each. Each “flavor” was
poured into cups from the bottle in front of the participant.
Participants were asked to try each “flavored” water, rating the
strength of the flavor on each (the survey used is below).
Participants were given an oyster cracker between flavors, and
told that it would dissipate the flavor of the previous drink. This
was done to add extra deception.
In total, there were twenty-five volunteers to participated in
the study. Thirteen of the participants were women and twelve
were men.
We ran a one-sample t-test to see if the mean ratings for each
flavor were significantly different from “0”. Each flavor had a P < .
05 sig value when mean ratings were compared to “0”. This tells
us that each flavor had a mean rating that was significantly above
“0”. In the Paired Samples t-test, we compared the mean ratings
of each flavor with each other, to see if there were any significant
differences. The significant differences were between the flavors
Lime and Blueberry (m= .96, m= 1.68, P=.023) and between
Blueberry and Orange (m= 1.68, m= 1.0, P=.035). We conducted
an independent samples t-test within each flavor to see if the
ratings from males and females had any significant differences.
According to the data, males and females tended to rate the taste
of the flavors similarly.
Our hypothesis was that our perception of taste can be
effected by visual stimuli. According to our data, that
hypothesis was supported. For each flavor, the average
rating was significantly above a rating of zero, which would
have been “no taste”. Our participants actually perceived the
flavor they saw on a bottle, in plain water. The other test we
ran, was meant to look for significant differences in the
ratings of each flavor with another. The differences we found
were between Lime and Blueberry, and Orange and
Blueberry. This states that the Blueberry flavor must have
tasted much stronger than these other two flavors. Our final
test compared the ratings of males and females. Our test
showed no significant difference between the ratings of
males and females. The hypothesis that our perception of
taste can be influenced by visual stimuli, that we can be
influenced to think we taste something that is not there by
only seeing a flavor, was supported in this experiment.
Thank you to Dr. Scott Peterson for assigning this research
project to us, and for all the help he’s provided. Thank you to
Emily Deaver for putting us on the program and to Charlie Kost
for printing the poster for us. Finally, thank you to all the
volunteers who participated and making this experiment
possible.
*Flavors not pictured: Raspberry & Orange