The impact of multiple immersion levels on data quality and panelist engagement for the evaluation of cookies under a preparation-based scenario

Abstract

Prior research indicates using immersive technologies to restore relevant contextual cues during product acceptance testing leads to more discriminating and reliable data likely due to improved ecological validity and heightened panelist engagement. However, as the use of immersive technologies in food and consumer product testing is emerging, the opportunities and limitations associated with such paradigms remain largely unexplored. To gain further insight, panelists assessed cookie liking in a traditional testing environment devoid of contextual information and two immersive environments in which audiovisual and olfactory cues depicting the baking of cookies in a home kitchen were presented. In the mixed immersion condition contextual information was presented to panelists via computer screen, head phones and localized aroma dispersion while evaluating cookies in a sensory booth. In the full immersion condition, the same information was presented via video wall, surround sound ceiling speakers and hidden scent dispersal. Following a three-week hiatus, panelists reassessed the same cookies in the same three conditions. Despite panelists indicating similar levels of engagement in the two immersive conditions, hedonic data proved to be more discriminating and reliable in the fully immersive environment. These data indicate that scenarios depicting food preparation provide relevant contextual information that can influence product liking. Moreover, as the level of immersion becomes more complete, the discriminability and reliability of consumer acceptance data improves. Whether similar findings are observed with other product-scenario combinations remains to be explored.

Dynamic Context Sensory Testing–A Proof of Concept Study Bringing Virtual Reality to the Sensory Booth

“…This was somewhat surprising, given that other studies of context saw changes in liking of samples with setting (Hein et al, 2010;Hein et al, 2012;Holthuyesen et al, 2017), however, it was also evident that samples were not highly liked by our panel in any condition, rating them around a 5 on the 9-point hedonic scale, or at around the point representing "neither like nor dislike." Hathaway and Simons (2017) reported similar observation in their cookie study: the rank order of the cookies with lower liking scores remained the same across the three environments tested (traditional sensory booth, mixed, and full immersion), while ranks switched among cookies with higher liking scores. At this level of liking, it may be more difficult to pick up small changes in liking induced by contextual shifts, as the 9-point hedonic scale performs somewhat unpredictably around the neutral category (Jones, Peryam, & Thurstone, 1955), with respondents more willing to use this non-committal scale point than commit to liking or disliking a sample (Gridgeman, 1961).…”

“…The sensory experience of a product can be powerfully influenced by immersion within a particular context (Sester et al, 2013), in addition to eliciting an increase in the degree of engagement in the testing process (Bangcuyo et al, 2015). In investigating immersion, combining audiovisual and olfactory information was found to produce a superior ability to discern products' hedonic information (Hathaway & Simons, 2017). However, as exposure to a "virtual" food has been demonstrated to elicit an emotional response similar to a real food versus images of foods (Gorini, Griez, Petrova, & Riva, 2010), we hypothesized that using an even more immersive, dynamic context of VR to test foods may elicit a more powerful reaction than with 2-D images.…”

Impact of product name and seasonal context on the sensory evaluation of a seasonally themed beverage

“…The role of actual physical environment or evoked environment on liking or perception has been of interest to others with mixed findings (Bangcuyo et al, ; Garcia‐Segovia et al, ; Hathaway & Simons, ; Jaeger et al, ). It must be noted that the changes in environment between the summer and winter seasons were subtle and far from the more drastic changes usually operated in other studies where data acquired in sensory booths and realistic environment are compared (Bangcuyo et al, ; Garcia‐Segovia et al, ; Hathaway & Simons, ). Moreover, the changes to the environment were implicit rather than explicit as is often the case in studies where context is evoked by asking the consumers to imagine themselves in a specific situation.…”

“…Studies have often focused on comparing hedonic ratings obtained in sensory booths to those obtained in realistic settings. Of those, some have reported a significant effect of the environment (Bangcuyo et al, ; Hathaway & Simons, ) on liking while others did not (Garcia‐Segovia, Harrington, & Seo, ). Environmental auditory cues, such as the music played at the point of consumption has been shown to be influential on liking ratings, for example, Spence and Shankar () concluded that the presence of semantically related environmental sounds could enhance ratings of related flavor qualities establishing thus the importance of congruency between the food and the consumption environment.…”

Food reward matters

“…Initial studies in the area of immersive technologies indicate that they add value to sensory and consumer testing. When people evaluated cookies in a traditional laboratory setting and an immersive setting using immersive technologies, the immersive setting generated more reliable data over time and people were more engaged and liked the cookies better than in the traditional testing context (18) . You can see on the slide that in the immersive setting, a video was shown of a man in the act of making cookies in a kitchen, and a cookie aroma was dispersed to fill the room with a subtle but noticeable aroma.…”