Various Paired Preference Tests: Experimenter Effect on “Take Home” Choice

Abstract

Three types of paired preference test were performed on a total of 213 consumers. In each test, consumers were required to choose between two types of chocolate. They performed the traditional preference test which measured relative degrees of liking. Also , they performed a “Choosing” preference tests where they were required to specify which of two chocolates they were more likely to choose when offered both or whether they might choose either or neither. They also performed a “Buying” preference tests where they specified which of two chocolates they were more likely to buy or whether they might buy either or neither. After testing, they were able to take away either one type of chocolate or two types of chocolate. For one group of consumers, this was done while the experimenter was not watching; for the other group, the consumers were being observed. Observing the consumers as they selected chocolates to take away had a biasing effect. Correspondence between the three types of test and what consumers took away with them was low. The results were discussed in term of “test” preferences and “operational” preferences. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS Accurate prediction of acceptance of a product in the marketplace is important. The goal of any test of acceptance is to predict consumer behavior. Therefore, an acceptance test is only valid in terms of how well it predicts the behavior of the consumers in the real world, once they have left the testing situation. It is costly if such tests do not predict this behavior accurately. Accordingly, validation studies should monitor the behavior of the consumers for a requisite amount of time after the test. This has been done for a few studies involving hedonic scales, but there are no published reports for paired preference tests. There is a reluctance to perform such studies because of the time and costs involved. One alternative is to offer consumers the chance to select the products being tested, to take away with them once the test has finished. This might give a clue to “real world” behavior. Since this approach is simple and cost‐effective, it is worth investigating.

Paired Preference Tests: A signal detection based analysis with separate d′ values for segmentation

“…Strictly, there are several types of preference that can be measured. The common one is a “liking” preference, while other preferences like a “buying” preference, “choosing” preference and a “take away” preference have also been measured and compared (Sung et al, ; Weiss, O'Mahony, & Wichchukit, ; Wichchukit & O'Mahony, ). In this paper, we will refer to the choosing preferences measured here, simply as “preference.” In Table , there are four levels of likelihood of choosing for each stimulus, with a neutral response option in the middle, giving a total of nine response options.…”

“…Strictly, there are several types of preference that can be measured. The common one is a "liking" preference, while other preferences like a "buying" preference, "choosing" preference and a "take away" preference have also been measured and compared (Sung et al, 2011;Weiss, O'Mahony, & Wichchukit, 2010;. In this paper, we will refer to the choosing preferences measured here, simply as "preference."…”

Stability in consumer responses to familiar and new chocolates during a period of exposure

“…Recently, a number of new approaches have been proposed in the literature for the purpose of obtaining more realistic consumer data. Examples are various types of experimental auctions (Lange, Martin, Chabanet, Combris, & Issanchou, 2002) and studies based on so-called take-away strategies (Naes, Monteleone, Segtnan, & Hersleth, 2013;Weiss, O'Mahony, & Wichchukit, 2010;Wichchukit & O'Mahony, 2011). These tests are different from the standard acceptance testing as they monitor what people actually do, not the scoring of acceptance or preferences for products.…”

A comparison of two new take-away strategies and their relation to rating and ranking of extrinsic properties of dry cured ham

“…There exists, however, also quantitatively oriented literature that demonstrates that consumers' planned use of a product may influence their response pattern (Weiss et al, 2010;Wichchukit & O'Mahony, 2011). This indicates that a possible refinement of the traditional experimental tests is to add information about intended use of the product.…”

“…The most wellknown tests are probably the various types of experimental auctions (Lange, Martin, Chabanet, Combris, & Issanchou, 2002) and studies based on monitoring real choices made by the consumer in restaurants and canteens (see for instance Caporale, Policastro, Tuorila, & Monteleone, 2009;King, Weber, Meiselman, & Lv, 2004;Rosas-Nexticapa, Angulu, & O'Mahony, 2005). Other approaches based on for instance various take-away strategies (Mustonen, Hissa, Huotilainen, Miettinen, & Tuorila, 2007;Weiss, O'Mahony, & Wichchukit, 2010;Wichchukit & O'Mahony, 2011) have also been suggested. At first glance an even better strategy would be to monitor real behaviour in a store, but such studies are difficult to conduct in practice and they also have some limitations.…”