Perceptual channels for the texture of a food

Abstract

The present study makes a start on characterising the cognitive processes by which physical effects of eating on the senses are transformed into quantitative judgments about perceived characteristics of a food. It was hypothesised that there is a discrete perceptual channel for an aspect of texture sensed during each of the three initial movements of eating a piece of a cookie. The results showed that the force required for initial compression of the surface of the biscuit related to how ‘crisp’ it was. Scores on ‘hard’ were sensitive to higher forces being required to bite off a piece. Ratings of crunchiness responded to both amplitude and frequency of the cracks opened up in this heterogeneously structured material during the first crushing of the bitten piece. These findings are being pursued to identify the stimulation patterns more precisely and to measure how the percepts are integrated into judgments of overall texture.