Human taste contrast and self-reported measures of anxiety.
Successive negative taste contrast in humans was demonstrated with a common taste stimulus, i.e., cherry-flavored Kool-Aid. A total of 31 male and female college-aged participants rated a 7% sucrose solution which was cherry-flavored as less sweet when it was preceded by a 28% rather than a 7% sucrose solution which was cherry-flavored. Because drugs such as the benzodiazepines affect taste contrast in rats and act as anxiolytics in humans, the present experiment also examined whether several self-reported measures of anxiety were related to taste contrast in humans. Neither scores on Taylor's Manifest Anxiety Survey nor those on the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory were related to "sweetness" ratings or contrast effects.
Specht
S M
SM
Department of Psychology, Lebanon Valley College, Garber Science Center, Annville, PA 17003-0501, USA.
Twining
R C
RC
D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000818:Animals; D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis*; D004192:Discrimination, Psychological / Q000502:physiology*; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010555:Personality Inventory / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D051381:Rats; D013395:Sucrose / Q000008:administration & dosage; D013649:Taste / Q000502:physiology*; D013652:Taste Threshold / Q000502:physiology
D013395:Sucrose