Tension and Tastes

Zushi’s team shares that “Prior research indicate that emotional states can alter taste perception, but the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. . . . The first experiment investigated how anxiety affects taste perception when individuals are aware of their anxiety. Participants watched videos inducing relaxation or anxiety, then were divided into groups focusing on their emotions and those who did not, and the taste perception was measure. The second experiment investigated the influence of awareness directed toward emotions on taste evaluation, without manipulating emotional states. This focused on cognitive processing of taste through evaluations of visual stimuli. Results showed that sweetness perception is suppressed by the evocation of anxiety, whereas bitterness perception is enhanced only by anxiety with awareness.”

Naoya Zushi, Monica Perusquia-Hernandez, and Saho Ayabe-Kanamura.  “The Effects of Anxiety on Taste Perception:  The Role of Awareness.”  i-Perception, in press, https://doi.org/10.1177/20416695231216370