Attempts to train novices for beer flavor discrimination: a matter of taste.
Inexperienced beer-drinkers who could not pass a beer-flavor discrimination test were divided into a taste group, which received additional perceptual experience with beer flavors; a verbal group, which received instruction in beer flavor terminology; a taste/verbal group, which received both additional experience and instruction; and a control group. Before and after training, all subjects participated in a similarity rating task involving beer flavors and flavor-related adjectives. Additional taste experience--but not increased experience with beer-flavor terminology--improved novices' ability to detect identical beer flavors. Results are discussed in terms of the trainability of flavor discrimination and the role of cognitive factors (both flavor-related and flavor-independent) in marketing beverages.
Peron
R M
RM
Department of Psychology, Old Dominion University.
Allen
G L
GL
D001515:Beer; D004193:Discrimination Learning; D005421:Flavoring Agents; D006801:Humans; D012660:Semantics; D013649:Taste
D005421:Flavoring Agents