Abstract
We report on the results of two online experiments designed to compare different soundtracks that had been composed (by various researchers and sound designers) in order to evoke/match different basic tastes. In Experiment 1, 100 participants listened to samples from 24 soundtracks and chose the taste (sweet, sour, salty, or bitter) that best matched each sample. Overall, the sweet soundtracks most effectively evoked the taste intended by the composer (participants chose sweet 56.9% of the time for the sweet soundtracks), whereas the bitter soundtracks were the least effective (participants chose bitter 31.4% of the time for the bitter soundtracks), compared with chance (choosing any specific taste 25% of the time). In Experiment 2, 50 participants rated their emotional responses (in terms of pleasantness and arousal) to the same 24 soundtrack samples and also to imaginary sweet/sour/salty/bitter-tasting foods. Associations between soundtracks and tastes were partly mediated by pleasantness for the sweet and bitter tastes and partly by arousal for the sour tastes. These results demonstrate how emotion mediation may be an additional mechanism behind sound-taste correspondences.
Highlights
In recent years, a growing body of empirical research has started to emerge demonstrating the intriguing relationship between what we hear and what we taste
Sweet) the sweet soundtracks most effectively evoked the tastes intended by the composer, while the bitter soundtracks were the least effective
56.9% of the participants’ responses were correct for sweet soundtracks, and confidence ratings for sweet soundtracks were significantly higher (M 1⁄4 69.53, SD 1⁄4 15.78) than for bitter and salty soundtracks; on the other hand, 31.4% of participants’ responses were correct for bitter soundtracks, and confidence ratings were significantly lower for bitter soundtracks (M 1⁄4 57.80, SD 1⁄4 17.57) than for all other soundtracks
Summary
A growing body of empirical research has started to emerge demonstrating the intriguing relationship between what we hear and what we taste. Relationship involves how the sounds of consumption affect the experience of eating, for example, amplifying food crunching sounds has been shown to increase the perception of crispiness of crisps (Zampini & Spence, 2004; see Dematteet al., 2014, and Spence, 2015, for a recent review). Another such area involves background noise and its impact on taste perception (Spence, Michel, & Smith, 2014). A growing list of correspondences have been documented between specific sound and taste attributes—such as, for example, between high pitch and sourness, or between low pitch and bitterness (e.g., Crisinel & Spence, 2009, 2010; Mesz, Trevisan, & Sigman, 2011; see Knoferle & Spence, 2012, for a review)
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