Psychology AOS2 Unit 2 8.5

Gustatory perception

Gustatory Perception

Perception of taste. Infuenced by biological, social and psychological factors. Brain takes raw sensory information (from our taste buds) and

interprets it to add meaning (perception of taste). It evolves throughout life.

Bottom-Up Processing

Information travels up from our sensory receptors (eyes, ears, skin) to the brain.

Top-Down Processing

The brain uses what it already knows to interpret incoming stimuli.

5 Basic tastes

• Sweet

• Sour

• Salty

• Bitter

• Umami (savouriness)

Genetics (biological factor)

Genetic differences make us more or less sensitive to the chemical molecules in different foods. However, taste preferences can be learnt. Also determine the number of taste buds we have,

Supertasters

Experience taste sensations intensely, have an unusually high number of taste buds, and are usually fussy eaters.

Age (biological factor)

• Babies: Fewer taste buds, programmed to like sweet food and avoid bitter food (survival mechanism to protect them from poison).

• Children: More taste receptors than adults, more sensitive to tastes, regardless of genetic influences. Early food experiences may influence later preferences and willingness to try new food.

• Adults: Number of taste buds and sense of smell decline. Age-related structural changes in our papillae contribute to reduced sense of taste, which makes it harder for food chemicals to make contact with taste receptors.

Illness (biological factor)

Changes to our sense of smell can reduce our sense of taste. Food may taste different / bland when we are unwell. Changes in sense of taste may also indicate specific conditions, e.g. vitamin B12 deficiency, gingivitis, autoimmune conditions.

Pregnancy (biological factor)

Generally very sensitive to smells and tastes. Often experience changes in taste preferences, seeking out strange taste combinations or suddenly disliking foods they used to love. Generally attributed to hormonal changes associated with pregnancy.

Perceptual Set (psychological factor)

Predisposition to perceive certain features of sensory stimuli and ignore other features of the stimulus that are deemed irrelevant. Our past experiences and memories of food, as well as our emotions, are used to help us identify and make judgements about taste. Classical conditioning.

Appearance (psychological factor)

Lead to a set of expectations influencing our taste preferences.

• Colour: Brightness is often linked to freshness of food and therefore brightly coloured food is more appealing and is perceived to be tastier.

• Shape: People feel less confident about taste of unusual shaped food.

• Sound: Drinks are perceived to be more bubbly if we can hear the carbonated fizz more loudly. Foods that make a louder crunch sound when we bite into them are perceived as crisper (which we often equate to freshness).

• Presentation: Food that is neatly presented on a plate is liked more than food presented in a messy manner. We equate neatness with higher quality and care in food preparation.

• Packaging and branding: We expect brand-name food in attractive packaging to taste better than Homebrand food in plain packaging.

Culture (social factor)

Culture shapes cooking ingredients, techniques, and flavors, while informing our underlying beliefs about food. Intergenerational sharing of recipes and cultural dishes builds early exposure and positive experiences, directly molding our long-term taste preferences—even starting in infancy from mother to child.