Hedonic Categories Research Articles

EXPRESS: The Impact of Air Pollution on Consumer Spending

Air pollution is a growing concern to economies and societies worldwide. Despite common knowledge that air pollution impairs our emotions and cognition and hence behavioral outcomes, the impact of air pollution on consumer spending remains an open question. Analyzing air quality readings and individual-level credit card transactions in South Korea, this paper shows that consumers spend more money when air quality is poorer. This correlation is more prominent in hedonic categories, such as entertainment or leisure activities, where the nature of consumption is characterized by greater emotional benefits. The authors consider potential explanations, and the leading hypothesis is that consumers treat spending as a mood-regulating resource. The results survive an array of robustness checks and are supported in a controlled experiment, reinforcing a causal inference behind the main findings. The authors provide implications for stakeholders to develop a sustainable marketing program that not only pursues managerial interests but also concerns consumer welfare in the face of environmental change.

Pengaruh Proporsi Ekstrak Daun Kersen (Muntingia calabura Linn) dan Ekstrak Daun Sirsak (Annona muricata Linn) terhadap Aktivitas Antioksidan dan Daya Terima Yoghurt

Background: Indonesia ranks first with the most cancer cases in Southeast Asia. Degenerative diseases such as cancer occur due to the induction of free radicals, substances that can counteract and prevent damage caused by free radicals are called antioxidants. Objectives:To determine the effect of the proportions of kersen leaf extract and soursop leaf extract on the antioxidant activity and acceptability of yogurt. Methods: This research is experimental with a true experimental design (posttest with control group design). This research consists of 2 stages. The first stage, namely the introduction, aimed to determine the proportion of kersen leaf extract and soursop leaf extract that were most widely accepted/preferred by panelists from the 5 treatments given (P1 = 100 ml:0 ml, P2 = 75ml:25 ml, P3 = 50ml:50 ml, P4 = 25 ml:75 ml, P5 = 0ml:100 ml). The second stage or main research aims to determine the chemical quality (antioxidant activity) in the selected treatment. Results: The results of the organoleptic test showed that all hedonic categories, namely aroma, color and taste except for texture, had significant differences at p <0.05. The best proportion was obtained in the P2 treatment, namely the proportion of 75ml DK : 25ml DS. The P2 treatment increased the antioxidant activity of yogurt, which was 52.33ppm compared to the control yogurt, which had an antioxidant activity of 73.78ppm. Conclusions: There is an effect of the proportion of kersen leaf extract and soursop leaf extract on the antioxidant activity and acceptability of yogurt except texture.

How can brands encourage consumers to donate data to a data-driven social partnership? An examination of hedonic vs. functional categories

Consumers’ willingness to donate personal data clearly benefits the marketers with whom they share it. Data-driven social partnerships allow marketers to leverage the data, serve the public good, personalize products for consumers, and boost profit. This paper focuses on better understanding what drives consumer data-donation to data-driven social partnerships, and ways that marketers can encourage consumers’ data-donation. Using a multi-method approach that includes a qualitative component – three focus groups – and two quantitative studies, we show that corporate reputation is linked to consumers’ desire to donate data via brand trust in the partnership for both functional and hedonic categories, however, hedonic categories can benefit even more from consumers’ perceptions of brand coolness that lead to brand trust in the partnership, displaying double mediation linking corporate reputation to consumers’ desire to donate data. Theoretical and managerial implications for these findings are discussed.

A machine learning approach for analyzing Free JAR data

This paper presents a methodology based on a machine learning approach for the processing of Free JAR data. The development of this new analysis method is grounded on the fact that Free JAR data can be seen as labeled textual data, since a hedonic category is associated to each Free JAR comment. In particular, this two-step methodology aims to take advantage of the link between these two pieces of information, to disclose the products' assets and weaknesses. The first step consists of assigning valency scores to the Free JAR comments, considering their link to the hedonic categorization provided by the consumers. This is achieved by setting up a classifier based on Random Forest. The second step consists of highlighting the attributes that characterize the product under study based on the concept of interpretability. The interest of the proposed procedure is illustrated through a case study pertaining to cheeses.

Users’ experiences of enhancing underwater images: an empirical study

Within the worldwide diving community, underwater photography is becoming increasingly popular. However, the marine environment presents certain challenges for image capture, with resulting imagery often suffering from colour distortions, low contrast and blurring. As a result, image enhancement software is used not only to enhance the imagery aesthetically, but also to address these degradations. Although feature-rich image enhancement software products are available, little is known about the user experience of underwater photographers when interacting with such tools. To address this gap, we conducted an online questionnaire to better understand what software tools are being used, and face-to-face interviews to investigate the characteristics of the image enhancement user experience for underwater photographers. We analysed the interview transcripts using the pragmatic and hedonic categories from the frameworks of Hassenzahl (Funology, Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, pp 31–42, 2003; Funology 2, Springer, pp 301–313, 2018) for positive and negative user experience. Our results reveal a moderately negative experience overall for both pragmatic and hedonic categories. We draw some insights from the findings and make recommendations for improving the user experience for underwater photographers using image enhancement tools.

Characteristics of frozen yogurt made with a variety of local bananas/plaintains

Frozen yogurt is a fermented frozen dairy dessert that blends the physical qualities of ice cream with the sensory and nutritional benefits of fermented milk items. Because of its low fat content, frozen yogurt may be considered a healthier alternative to ice cream. Some fruity ingredients have been added in the formulation of yogurt to gain more acceptance. There ia s vast local fruit diversity in Indonesia, especially in Maluku that can be used to impart fruity flavor to frozen yogurt. The purpose of this research was to determine the chemical, physical, and sensory characteristics of various types of local bananas/plaintains., i.e “Tongka langit”. “Raja”, Ambon kuning”, and “40 hari” in the production of frozen yogurt and determine the best local banana types in frozen yogurt production. Results showed that The incorporation of “Ambon kuning” banana in the formulation resulted in frozen yogurt with better characteristics than other bananas/plaintains, with pH, protein, vitamin C, and total sugar of 5.65, 2.82%, 41 mg/100 mL, and 45.85%, respectively. In terms of taste, texture, overall likeness, and color, frozen yogurt made from “Ambon kuning” banana was considered suitable and liked on most hedonic categories, with the exception of aroma, which was neither liked nor disliked.

Nudging consumers for relevant data using Free JAR profiling: An application to product development

Nudging is nowadays often used in order to influence people’s behaviours. However, we are convinced that nudging can also influence people’s speeches. In a product development context, consumers are more and more integrated in the process: how integrate them in the most efficient way? Whereas formatted measures can be easily analysed but are far from the consumers, measures that seem to be closer to the consumers are often very difficult to analyse. A trade-off has to be found, in order to get data that are, at the same time, as close as possible to consumers’ mind and relevant for the ones who develop new products. In this context, we proposed a new strategy, based on the nudge theory, called “Free JAR Profiling”. Its first step invites consumers to classify products into 3 hedonic categories. This classification impact consumers’ speeches in a soft way as it places consumers in a hedonic state of mind and allows them to easily structure their thoughts toward product improvement keys. The second step invites consumers to assess the products according to their own vocabulary, but with a constraint on how they give their opinion, based on a JAR scale. This strategy allows to have access to oriented and structured data, which mix the consumer spontaneity strength and the R&D approach of JAR scales. The added-value and the relevance of these nudged data can be checked, and a Sentiment Mapping can be performed as a results representation.

Do hedonic- versus nutrition-based attitudes toward food predict food choices? a cross-sectional study of 6- to 11-year-olds

BackgroundImplicit and explicit attitudes are potential precursors of food choices and combine affective and cognitive components that can vary in their relative dominance. Yet, the affective and cognitive components of attitudes toward food can lead to distinct predisposition toward a food item and potentially to different food choices. In the food domain, the affective component pertains to the hedonic tone of consumption, while the cognitive component encompasses nutritional value or health consequences of food. The present study investigated whether hedonic- versus nutrition-based implicit and/or explicit attitudes toward food predicts children’s healthy versus unhealthy food choices.MethodsA total of 63 children (age range = 6.3–11.5) participated in a 90-min session at 5 pm (i.e., afterschool snack time in France). The children were asked to choose five food items from a buffet featuring five healthy and five unhealthy sweet foods pretested as being highly liked. Children ate what they had chosen. Moreover, their implicit attitudes were assessed with a pairing task in which children were presented with 10 food triplets and asked to choose two food items that “best go together”. For each triplet, foods could be paired according to their hedonic or nutritional characteristics. Explicit attitudes were assessed with a task in which children placed each of 48 food items into one of the following categories: “yummy”, “yucky” (i.e., hedonic categories), “makes you strong”, or “makes you fat” (i.e., nutritional categories).ResultsBoth implicit and explicit attitudes significantly influenced children’s food choices. We observed that children with more hedonic-based implicit or explicit attitudes toward food were more likely to choose healthy food options from the buffet. Conversely, children with both implicit and explicit nutrition-based attitudes chose less healthy foods.ConclusionsHedonic-based attitudes toward food seem to drive healthier food choices in children compared with nutrition-based attitudes in this particular eating context. These findings suggest that pleasure from eating might be an ally with regard to healthy eating among children. Additional research is needed to understand the etiology of children’s attitudes toward food in order to provide insights on how to shape adequate children’s attitudes to guide them toward healthy food choices.

Explicit and implicit tasks for assessing hedonic-versus nutrition-based attitudes towards food in French children

Attitudes are important precursors of behaviours. This study aims to compare the food attitudes (i.e., hedonic- and nutrition-based) of children using both an implicit pairing task and an explicit forced-choice categorization task suitable for the cognitive abilities of 5- to 11-year-olds. A dominance of hedonically driven attitudes was expected for all ages in the pairing task, designed to elicit affective and spontaneous answers, whereas a progressive emergence of nutrition-based attitudes was expected in the categorization task, designed to involve deliberate analyses of the costs/benefits of foods. An additional exploratory goal was to evaluate differences in the attitudes of normal and overweight children in both tasks.Children from 3 school levels (n = 194; mean age = 8.03 years) were individually tested on computers in their schools. They performed a pairing task in which the tendencies to associate foods with nutritional vs. culinary contexts were assessed. Next, they were asked to categorize each food into one of the following four categories: “yummy”, “yucky” (i.e., hedonic categories), “makes you strong”, or“makes you fat” (i.e., nutritional categories).The hedonic/culinary pairs were very frequently selected (81% on average), and this frequency significantly increased through school levels. In contrast, in the categorization task, a significant increase in nutrition-driven categorizations with school level was observed. Additional analyses revealed no differences in the food attitudes between the normal and overweight children in the pairing task, and a tendency towards lower hedonic categorizations among the overweight children.Culinary associations can reflect cultural learning in the French context where food pleasure is dominant. In contrast, the progressive emergence of cognitively driven attitudes with age may reflect the cognitive development of children who are more reasonable and influenced by social norms.

Effects of an evoked refreshing consumption context on hedonic responses to apple juice measured using best–worst scaling and the 9-pt hedonic category scale

Awareness of the need to consider a product’s consumption context when measuring consumer hedonic response of a product is increasing among consumer sensory researchers. This study investigated the effects of evoking a consumption context using a written scenario on hedonic response measured using best–worst scaling and the 9-pt hedonic category scale. Hedonic responses for four apple juices with relatively large sensory differences were compared when measured in the evoked context ‘when having something refreshing to drink’ using best–worst hedonic scaling (n=65) and the 9-pt hedonic scale (n=48). Best–worst scaling discriminated between the four apple juices when a refreshing context was evoked (p<0.01), while the juices were equally liked using the 9-point scale (p=0.41) when the same context was evoked. Consumers perceived best–worst scaling to be more difficult than the 9-pt scale, however there was no difference between the two methods for consumers perceived accuracy of their liking information. The present study highlights that the effect of an evoked context on hedonic response may not be universal for hedonic methods. Further research is needed to understand the effect of evoking context on the liking of products, and to determine whether this measure reflects product liking in an actual consumption context.

Something Free or Something Off? A Comparative Study of the Purchase Effects of Premiums and Price Cuts

Facing cutthroat price competition, manufacturers and retailers increasingly rely on non-price promotion techniques, such as premium promotions, where consumers receive a free gift with the purchase of a product. Despite the omnipresence of premium promotions, research to date has not fully answered the question whether and under which conditions premiums outperform plain price cuts. We use data from a large online shopping simulation with more than 2,000 consumers to model purchase behavior in response to premiums and price cuts. Our results indicate that the impact of premiums on consumers’ incidence, choice, and quantity decisions is systematically lower than that of equivalent price cuts. However, a premium’s relative underperformance in terms of purchase effects may well be offset by the premium’s cost advantage, especially in hedonic categories and for private label brands. We demonstrate that, as a result, manufacturers and retailers alike may be better off spending their promotion dollars on premiums than on price cuts.

The Double-Edged Sword of Foreign Brand Names for Companies from Emerging Countries

Foreign branding—or using brand names that evoke foreign associations through, for example, spelling a brand name in a foreign language—is a popular means in both developed and emerging countries of suggesting a specific country of origin (COO) in the hope that it will evoke certain product qualities. As a result, consumers increasingly encounter products with brand names that imply a COO that differs from the actual COO (where the product is manufactured). In four experiments, the authors find support for the hypothesis that incongruence between the actual COO and implied COO decreases purchase likelihood asymmetrically. Incongruence backfires in hedonic categories but has hardly any effect in utilitarian categories. Furthermore, incongruence decreases purchase likelihood more if the actual COO is an emerging rather than developed country. The authors address the psychological process underlying the asymmetric effect of incongruence by showing that consumers apply different information-processing strategies to hedonic versus utilitarian products. These results have important implications for (foreign) branding decisions.

STATISTICAL ANALYSIS OF DATA FROM THE “SCORE AND RANK” PROCEDURE IN PREFERENCE STUDIES WITH CHILDREN

ABSTRACTThe elicitation of preferences among children is a key to the successful development of products designed for children. Among the several hedonic methodologies adapted for children aged between 6 and 10, the “score and rank” procedure introduced by L. L. Birch et al. was selected and tested. This procedure comprises two steps: hedonic categorization followed by ranking within each hedonic category. A new strategy of data analysis generated from this procedure of evaluation is discussed and illustrated on the basis of case studies with primary school children with whom close variants of commercial food products were tested.PRACTICAL APPLICATIONSThe data processing strategy suggested for the “score and rank” procedure yields scores associated with the products being evaluated. In comparison with the usual procedure of data analysis that is based on ranks, the new strategy of analysis does not overestimate the differences in likings between the products and the number of consumers clusters.

Ontogeny of Odor Liking during Childhood and Its Relation to Language Development

One important aspect of odor hedonics is its plasticity during human development. The present study set out to probe the modulators of such olfactory change during that period by testing the hypothesis that language and semantic representations of objects are strong organizers of odor liking. To this end, 15 three-year-old children were tested in a longitudinal study. Participants were exposed to exactly the same 12 odorants once a year over a 3-year period. At each experimental session, they were asked to answer 2 questions: 1) "Do you like or dislike this odor?" and 2) "Can you tell me what it is?" The level of language production was assessed on a standardized test. The 3-year-old children were found to categorize the same number of odorants as liked and as disliked. The follow-up study, in contrast, showed that at 5 years of age they categorized more of these odors as liked and that the shift was significant only in the children with higher language production skills. Taken as a whole, these findings suggest that the 3- to 5-year age range, when children begin to master language, is a turning point in the construction of olfactory hedonic categories during childhood.

When Experience Does Not Matter: On the Non-Impact of Real-Time Hedonic Experiences

This research explores the relationship between people's memories for individual hedonic consumption experiences and global evaluations of categories of experiences. We document how memory for one's hedonic appraisal of an individual experience is often weaker than memories for other aspects of the experience, and how the hedonic evaluation of the experience tends to drift towards category perceptions. We find little updating of hedonic category evaluations based on discrepant individual experiences, which suggests category perceptions, good and bad, frequently withstand change, even in the face of conflicting individual experiences. However, we also find that the updating of category evaluations can be aided significantly by the occurrence of real-time evaluations of individual experiences.

A cross-cultural methodological study of the uses of two common hedonic response scales

Hedonic scale use, cross-culturally and particularly by Asian consumers, has received little attention but is of increasing concern with greater globalisation of food markets and opportunities for exporting to Asia. The study reported here sought to test whether there were cultural, scale and gender interactions between European-origin Australian ( n=61) and Malaysian ( n=54) consumers' hedonic responses to food and drink stimuli. A between-groups design, one group using a labelled nine-point category scale and the other an unstructured-anchored line scale, both using computerised responses, found no systematic cultural bias. However, there was some evidence of gender bias. In addition, a task in which semantic labels (from the labelled hedonic category scale) were assigned to a line scale found no statistically significant cultural differences in the scores attributed to the labels. These data indicated that, in the context of computerised responses, young Malaysians used both scales in a similar way to their Australian counterparts. However, further non-parametric analysis suggested that the unstructured line scale encouraged greater use of a range of possible responses and, therefore, line scales may be a preferred option for use in this population.

Serotonergic blockade in the treatment of the cancer anorexia‐cachexia syndrome

BACKGROUND Imbalanced amino acid diets in animals rapidly produce anorexia and weight loss. Blockade of type 3 serotonergic receptors (5HT3) can ameliorate anorexia in this animal model. Imbalanced plasma amino acid levels also have been documented in both animal models and human patients with cancer cachexia. Therefore a trial of the 5HT3 receptor antagonist, ondansetron, was undertaken in the treatment of patients with cancer cachexia. METHODS Patients with metastatic cancer who were not undergoing chemotherapy or radiotherapy and who had lost >5% of their body weight were eligible. Baseline physical examination; weight; anthropometric studies; levels of retinol binding protein, albumin, and prealbumin; and skin testing for anergy were obtained. The ability to enjoy food was assessed utilizing a seven-point hedonic category scale for specific foods. Therapy was comprised of oral ondansetron, 8 mg twice a day. RESULTS Twenty-seven patients were enrolled; all were evaluable for toxicity and 20 patients were evaluable for response. Toxicity of ondansetron was minimal. Patients demonstrated significant weight loss prior to disease entry (mean baseline weight of 76.9 kg vs. 72.1 kg; P < 0.000002). Patients continued to lose weight on study (Week 0: 72.5 kg vs. Week 4: 71.4 kg; P = 0.027); in addition, there was significant deterioration of midarm circumference and hand grip strength, all of which indicated worsening nutritional status. However, a significant improvement in food enjoyment was noted (P = 0.04). CONCLUSIONS Although it apparently improved the ability of patients to enjoy food, the blockade of 5HT3 receptors failed to prevent weight loss in patients with cancer cachexia or alter laboratory parameters of protein nutrition. Cancer 1999;86:684–8. © 1999 American Cancer Society.

Serotonergic blockade in the treatment of the cancer anorexia-cachexia syndrome

Imbalanced amino acid diets in animals rapidly produce anorexia and weight loss. Blockade of type 3 serotonergic receptors (5HT(3)) can ameliorate anorexia in this animal model. Imbalanced plasma amino acid levels also have been documented in both animal models and human patients with cancer cachexia. Therefore a trial of the 5HT(3) receptor antagonist, ondansetron, was undertaken in the treatment of patients with cancer cachexia. Patients with metastatic cancer who were not undergoing chemotherapy or radiotherapy and who had lost >5% of their body weight were eligible. Baseline physical examination; weight; anthropometric studies; levels of retinol binding protein, albumin, and prealbumin; and skin testing for anergy were obtained. The ability to enjoy food was assessed utilizing a seven-point hedonic category scale for specific foods. Therapy was comprised of oral ondansetron, 8 mg twice a day. Twenty-seven patients were enrolled; all were evaluable for toxicity and 20 patients were evaluable for response. Toxicity of ondansetron was minimal. Patients demonstrated significant weight loss prior to disease entry (mean baseline weight of 76.9 kg vs. 72. 1 kg; P < 0.000002). Patients continued to lose weight on study (Week 0: 72.5 kg vs. Week 4: 71.4 kg; P = 0.027); in addition, there was significant deterioration of midarm circumference and hand grip strength, all of which indicated worsening nutritional status. However, a significant improvement in food enjoyment was noted (P = 0.04). Although it apparently improved the ability of patients to enjoy food, the blockade of 5HT(3) receptors failed to prevent weight loss in patients with cancer cachexia or alter laboratory parameters of protein nutrition.

The odors of the human vagina.

Gas-chromatography analysis of 90 samples of vaginal secretions from 10 women revealed that at any given sample time the perceptible vaginal odor of each individual women was composed of numerous separate odorous effluents. Almost 2,1000 odoriferous effluents were observed. This corresponded to 16% of all recorded peaks on the 90 gas-chromatograms. The odorous effluents were assigned 34 characteristic odors in three hedonic categories (neutral, pleasant and unpleasant). This information supports the contention that the olfactory signature of an individual is complex, highly individual and composed of many "mini odors".