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. 2021 Feb 7;10(2):354.
doi: 10.3390/foods10020354.

Neurogastronomy as a Tool for Evaluating Emotions and Visual Preferences of Selected Food Served in Different Ways

Jakub Berčík  1 , Johana Paluchová  1 , Katarína Neomániová  1
Affiliations

Neurogastronomy as a Tool for Evaluating Emotions and Visual Preferences of Selected Food Served in Different Ways

Jakub Berčík et al. Foods. .

Abstract

The appearance of food provides certain expectations regarding the harmonization of taste, delicacy, and overall quality, which subsequently affects not only the intake itself but also many other features of the behavior of customers of catering facilities. The main goal of this article is to find out what effect the visual design of food (waffles) prepared from the same ingredients and served in three different ways-a stone plate, street food style, and a white classic plate-has on the consumer's preferences. In addition to the classic tablet assistance personal interview (TAPI) tools, biometric methods such as eye tracking and face reading were used in order to obtain unconscious feedback. During testing, air quality in the room by means of the Extech device and the influence of the visual design of food on the perception of its smell were checked. At the end of the paper, we point out the importance of using classical feedback collection techniques (TAPI) and their extension in measuring subconscious reactions based on monitoring the eye movements and facial expressions of the respondents, which provides a whole new perspective on the perception of visual design and serving food as well as more effective targeting and use of corporate resources.

Keywords: air quality; consumption; emotions; eye tracking; face reading; gastronomy; neurogastronomy; smell; visual design; waffles.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Testing variants of individual visual designs.
Figure 2
Figure 2
The course of testing the visual design of waffles.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Introductory interview and monitoring of indoor air quality.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Evaluation of the aroma of individual visual designs of waffles.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Conscious evaluation of the visual presentation of waffles served in three different ways.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Thermal map of visual attention of waffles served in three different ways.
Figure 7
Figure 7
Level of excitement during the evaluation of waffles served in three different ways.
Figure 8
Figure 8
Valence during the evaluation of waffles served in three different ways.
Figure 9
Figure 9
Willingness of respondents to pay for individual waffle designs (average in EUR).
Figure 10
Figure 10
Evaluation of aromas of individual waffle variants.
Figure 11
Figure 11
Microemotions recorded during the evaluation of individual visual versions of the food.
Figure 12
Figure 12
Overall evaluation of individual variants of waffles served in different ways.
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