The semantic basis of taste-shape associations.

Carlos Velasco,Charles Spence,Andy T Woods,Lawrence E Marks,Adrian David Cheok

doi:10.7717/peerj.1644

Abstract

Previous research shows that people systematically match tastes with shapes. Here, we assess the extent to which matched taste and shape stimuli share a common semantic space and whether semantically congruent versus incongruent taste/shape associations can influence the speed with which people respond to both shapes and taste words. In Experiment 1, semantic differentiation was used to assess the semantic space of both taste words and shapes. The results suggest a common semantic space containing two principal components (seemingly, intensity and hedonics) and two principal clusters, one including round shapes and the taste word “sweet,” and the other including angular shapes and the taste words “salty,” “sour,” and “bitter.” The former cluster appears more positively-valenced whilst less potent than the latter. In Experiment 2, two speeded classification tasks assessed whether congruent versus incongruent mappings of stimuli and responses (e.g., sweet with round versus sweet with angular) would influence the speed of participants’ responding, to both shapes and taste words. The results revealed an overall effect of congruence with congruent trials yielding faster responses than their incongruent counterparts. These results are consistent with previous evidence suggesting a close relation (or crossmodal correspondence) between tastes and shape curvature that may derive from common semantic coding, perhaps along the intensity and hedonic dimensions.

Highlights

Several studies show that people systematically match both basic taste words and tastants with shapes that vary in terms ofHow to cite this article Velasco et al (2016), The semantic basis of taste-shape associations
The results showed that the curvature of the shapes presented in the first task influenced the perceived sharpness of the cheese, with the angular shapes leading to higher sharpness ratings than the round shapes
Wilcoxon signed-rank test revealed that the participants were more accurate in the task in which they had to respond with taste words rather than shapes (p = .001, Cliff’s Delta = 0.15)

Summary

Introduction

Several studies show that people systematically match both basic taste words and tastants (i.e., chemicals that generate gustatory sensations) with shapes that vary in terms ofHow to cite this article Velasco et al (2016), The semantic basis of taste-shape associations. Velasco et al (2015a) reported that the more the participants liked the taste (but not a taste word), the rounder the shape matched to it (see Bar & Neta, 2006, on curved objects preference) and suggested a hedonic mechanism to explain the crossmodal matching (see Ghoshal, Boatwright & Malika, 2015). This finding was subsequently replicated by Velasco et al (2016). It is important to evaluate a wider range of intensities, given that the authors tested just two concentrations

Methods

Results

Conclusion