Individual differences in taste perception

Abstract

Individual differences in taste perception require careful attention by researchers. These are differences between people which are produced, for example, by such easily identified variables as gender, age, and some genetic differences, and more subtle ones, such as those associated with personality types. They are often treated as nuisance variables. However, if ignored, they affect the validity of descriptions of effects and thus generalizations, since measures of central tendency do not well reflect heterogeneous distributions. They can reduce the power of statistical tests; null hypotheses are accepted more often than they should be. Individual differences provide evidence about the nature of mechanisms underlying sensory phenomena, and thus are important in the generation of research hypotheses. Simple analyses of distributions of measures within groups often fail to identify subgroups; theory and observations from prior work may be necessary to identify variables producing individual differences. Many sources of individual differences in sensory studies have been identified. These include genetic endowment, age and personality, as defined by various psychological tests. In studies of taste, smell and oral irritation, individual differences have been found in absolute and differential sensitivity, perceived quality, hedonic ratings, identification, rate of salivation, and relative sensitivity of receptor loci.