I think I like this: assessing conscious versus subconscious wine taste responses using neuroscientific techniques

Abstract

Purpose This methodological paper aims to demonstrate the potential benefits of using consumer neuroscientific methodologies to measure consumers’ subconscious responses when consuming wine during a taste experiment. By comparing conscious and subconscious evaluations during a tasting experience this study illustrates how this methodology offers a more nuanced understanding of the consumer evaluation of wine during a consumption experience. Design/methodology/approach The research made use of a single-case taste test experiment whereby a wine expert blind-tasted 20 white wine varietals. Throughout each tasting, subconscious responses were measured using electroencephalography (EEG), combined with conscious measures of stated preferences using a questionnaire. Findings Stark differences were observed between the results of the conscious and subconscious wine evaluation measures, underscoring the complex nature of consumer decision-making and preference development. This study practically demonstrates the use and value of EEG as a consumer neuroscientific methodology in a wine marketing context. Originality/value This paper demonstrates the value of neuroscience techniques in identifying differences in the conscious and subconscious wine evaluation measures. This study practically demonstrates the use and value of EEG as a consumer neuroscientific methodology in a wine marketing context.

A systematic review on EEG-based neuromarketing: recent trends and analyzing techniques

“…Pagan et al [ 88 ] and Hsu and Chen [ 110 ] used 2 wines from two different countries of origin. Robertson et al [ 91 ] used 20 different white wine varieties to record EEG.…”

“…Automating pre-processing pipelines can save time and make them more efficient [ 131 ]. EEGLAB [ 132 ] was the most commonly used tool to prepare these pipelines [ 54 , 76 , 81 , 88 , 91 , 92 , 100 , 111 ]. Selecting the right pre-processing pipeline is crucial for getting accurate results.…”

“…Then different periodogram techniques such as Welch’s Periodogram [ 139 ] have been used to calculate the power spectral density (PSD) of different EEG sub-bands as given by Eq. ( 3 ) [ 10 , 40 , 42 , 45 , 81 , 91 ]. where presents the PSD of corresponding to the n th segment and the k th frequency point after windowing.…”