Drinking while thirsty can lead to conditioned increases in consumption.
A within-subject design was used to test whether repeatedly drinking a novel-flavoured and coloured drink while thirsty would influence subsequent liking for or consumption of that drink, compared to a different flavoured and coloured drink repeatedly consumed while less thirsty. Each participant was given 300 ml of one flavoured drink (H) after consuming a high salt meal (5.27 g of salt), and 300 ml of another flavoured drink (L) after consuming a low salt meal (1.27 g of salt). Participants had 4 sessions with each meal-type/drink combination, in an intermixed order. Pre- and post-training assessments of the drinks were conducted to determine the impact of the training regime on pleasantness and perceived thirst-quenching effect of the drinks. The final session included a choice test, and ad libitum access to the chosen drink, after either a high or low salt meal. In this final choice session, people drank almost twice as much H as L; however, there were no differential effects of past training on rated liking or choice. The increased consumption of H might reflect greater liking for H which was not detected by the rating scales; or it might reflect the learning of greater "conditioned thirst" in response to the flavour of H.
D000328:Adult; D000339:Affect; D001628:Beverages; D002755:Choice Behavior; D003213:Conditioning, Psychological; D004326:Drinking; D005260:Female; D005421:Flavoring Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005518:Food Preferences / Q000502:physiology* / Q000523:psychology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D013649:Taste; D013894:Thirst / Q000502:physiology*
D005421:Flavoring Agents