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.
Highlights
An extensive body of empirical research shows that our emotions influence our perception
All participants completed the experiment in this order to (a) minimize the time between emotion induction and beer tasting, (b) negate demand characteristics that might be present had we presented the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule-X (PANAS-X) before beer tasting, and (c) avoid making individuals aware of their induced emotional state by completing the PANAS-X, such that they might discount it when evaluating beer [7]
The Missing Completely at Random (MCAR) test on data missing from the PANAS-X showed that there was no pattern to the missing data (χ2 = 22.29; df = 31; p = 0.87), indicating responses were missing completely at random
Summary
An extensive body of empirical research shows that our emotions influence our perception (see [1]for a review). Emotions typically have an identifiable referent (i.e., a specific source), a short onset time, and a limited duration. Moods may lack a clear referent, arise more gradually, are more diffuse, and tend to be of lower intensity. What is more, they may last for an extended period of time (see [4,5,6,7] for discussions of these differences). We focus on emotions because, as noted by Côtè [8], the interpretation of the broad valence of mood (e.g., positive/negative, pleasant/unpleasant) is limited, while an examination of discrete emotional states may provide insight into specific patterns of appraisal
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