Herbert L. Meiselman

• PhD
• Consultant at Independent Researcher

Large amounts of money, time and effort are devoted to sensory and consumer research in food and beverage companies in an attempt to maximize the chances of new products succeeding in the marketplace. Many new products fail due to lack of consumer interest. Answers to what causes this and what can be done about it are complex and remain unclear. Th...

The EsSense Profile R is a lexicon of 39 emotion words selected to test food products in central location tests and in other contexts. The method uses a fixed lexicon of 35 positive emotions and 4 negative emotions, and a scaled response format (5-point scale: not at all, slightly, moderately, very, and extremely). The scale is usually used with a...

Segmentation based on psychographics data is a relatively new topic and one of the current trends of consumer research within the sensory and consumer research fields. In this paper, Japanese consumer segmentation was conducted based on General self-efficacy (GSE) self-assessment collected in a phytonutrient supplement study. The aim of this study...

Demographics and psychographics are used to study the influence of different consumers on product effects in food development and testing. Demographics have a longer history and are routinely used in most research; psychographics are more recent, raising the question of whether they add to research on food products. The research presented here repr...

Immunocompromised post-bone marrow transplant patients must follow a restrictive diet after discharge to avoid microbiological risks in food. Despite the apparent health considerations, these restrictions can sometimes create confusion and apprehension during home meal preparation which has a negative impact on patients’ social dining experiences w...

Wine consumer lifestyle segmentation has been widely studied; however, most studies have solely utilised online surveys. This work investigated the impact of context on wine consumer segments' liking and emotions while consuming wines in different environments. Two studies were conducted with regular wine consumers segmented based on their fine win...

A photography method was used to measure waste on food trays in school lunch in France, using the 5-point quarter-waste scale. While food waste has been studied extensively in US school lunches, the structure of the French lunch meal is quite different, with multiple courses, and vegetables (raw and cooked) in more than one course. Vegetables were...

It is still not fully clear how particular aromas in wine may affect consumers’ liking and emotional responses, and whether these change in different contexts and seasons. Therefore, a study was conducted with 3000 regular wine consumers from Australia, UK and USA using an online survey that assessed liking for 59 wine aromas, and from which 9 arom...

This chapter provides a review of the role of contextual factors in food choice and acceptance. Both laboratory and field studies are covered and include contextual influences due to information, e.g., those due to product labeling and portion size information; elements of the physical environment, including color, size, shape, weight, and feel of...

Prescott presents a personal perspective on where we are in emotion measurement. He reviews recent applied work including several major issues: the definition of emotion, the balance of positive or negative emotions, including large or small numbers of emotion, and using emotion questionnaires or alternatives to questionnaires. He warns readers to...

This research measured emotions before and after a meal in a French dining environment known for high quality food. Results showed that negative emotions were very low before and after the meal. Positive emotions generally increased after the meal to moderate and even high levels. These results differ from earlier research in a student cafeteria wh...

This study investigated how information, typically presented on wine back-labels or wine company websites, influences consumers' expected liking, informed liking, wine-evoked emotions and willingness to pay for Australian white wines. Regular white wine consumers (n = 126) evaluated the same set of three commercially available white wines (mono-var...

While food variety continues to be of major interest to those studying eating and health, research has been mainly limited to laboratory research of simple meals. This paper seeks to enlarge the scope of eating research by examining the food offered in the earliest menus in United States restaurants and hotels of the early and mid-19th c, when rest...

Consumers’ affective states associated with product development are hot topics and an important area of consumer research. The Profile of Mood States 2nd EditionTM –Adult (POMS 2-ATM) with 65 items and 5 negative scales can be used to assess adult consumers’ affect. Consumer POMS data collected in the US for the NUTRILITE™ brand¹ multivitamin multi...

This paper is an update on a study investigating the effect of culture and language on reported emotions and confirms that both culture and language are important in studying emotions evoked by beverages. In addition, sub-categories of products, such as beverage types have different emotion associations in different cultures. A list of emotions dev...

Psychographics data were collected from three global consumer studies for phytonutrient supplements products. The objective of this paper was to explore the usage of the psychographics and other consumer data for sensory causal inference, i.e., cause-and-effect inference, rather than conventional statistical associational inference. In this work, t...

This paper introduces the conceptualization and measurement of quality of life, well-being, and wellness. Wellness, quality of life and well-being refer to the positive, subjective state that is opposite to illness. Thus, wellness is not the just absence of disease and the absence of illness; it is a separate positive state. Quality of life, well-b...

Emotion Measurement reviews academic and applied studies in order to highlight key elements of emotions which should be considered in the development and validation of newer commercial methods of emotion measurement. The goal of the book is practical, but the approach will be both academic and applied. It is aimed primarily at sensory scientists an...

ABSTRACT Psychographics data were collected from three global consumer studies for phytonutrient supplements products. The objective of this paper was to explore the usage of the psychographics and other consumer data for sensory causal inference, i.e., cause-and-effect inference, rather than conventional statistical associational inference. In t...

This study investigated the effect of culture and language on reported emotions. Cross cultural studies of language need to look both between different languages and within the same language as spoken in different countries. Starting with a list of emotions in English, translation resulted in different lists for Spain and Mexico due to differences...

This paper presents the development of a questionnaire to measure consumer wellness associated with food. The paper describes the selection of the questionnaire items, the validation of the questionnaire content, and the stability of the results. This new questionnaire, consisting of 5 dimensions (emotional, intellectual, physical, social and spiri...

Two groups of Ss, one relatively naive (S1) and one which had first served as Es under the same experimental conditions in which they then served as Ss (S2), were run in a factorial design investigating the effects of UCS duration and percentage of reinforcement. With 100% reinforcement short duration UCS produced performance significantly superior...

The study of emotions associated with foods continues to gain momentum within the Sensory Science field. A number of questionnaire methods have been published, but there is a lack of detailed advice on how to use and/or implement these methods. This paper addresses a number of methodological decisions for the EsSense Profile® (King & Meiselman, 201...

I present eleven predictions of future changes in sensory and consumer research, dividing them according to the criticality of change and the timing of change. The changes which the field must have are more emphasis on: health and wellness, global products and methods, age (life transitions), measuring beyond liking, move beyond the laboratory, and...

The main goal of this study was to test whether exposure to happy, neutral, or sad media content influences social modeling effects of (snack) food intake in young children. The study was conducted at 14 Dutch urban and suburban primary schools. The participants (N = 112) were asked to watch a movie with a same-sex normal-weight confederate who was...

This experimental study investigated whether emotions while watching TV have an effect on social modelling of food intake among children. The participants (N = 112) were asked to watch a movie with a same-sex normal-weight confederate who was instructed to either eat nothing or eat a standardized amount of snack food (10 chocolate-coated peanuts)....

Four experiments examined emotional responses to foods and food concepts (names). Emotional responses varied by foods/food names and included many different emotions. Correlations between foods and corresponding names ranged from +.66 to +.83, while session to session reliability in emotional responses for names ranged from +.50 to +.77 and for foo...

The EsSense Profile™ methodology, presented in 2008 and published in 2010, incorporates both overall acceptability and emotion measures in the consumer test questionnaire. This method provides a detailed list of emotion attributes that consumers associate with the test products. This list can be expanded or edited to account for specific emotions t...

Neophobia was measured with two large (n=1567 and n=6843) commercial samples of US consumers on a 5-point Food Neophobia Scale. Results were compared with demographic data collected in other samples in the US and in other countries. Gender effects remain unclear; while neophobia appears to increase with age, while decreasing with increasing educati...

Emotion attributes have been generally associated with product brands but little work has been published to understand consumer emotions associated with the product itself. The purpose of this series of studies was to develop an emotion-specific questionnaire to test foods with consumers in person or on the internet. A list of emotion terms was scr...

When evaluating the acceptability of food products, companies often focus on specific demographics for recruiting and screening consumers. However, this information may not necessarily explain the variability in the test results. Other elements, such as consumer psychographic profiles, may help better understand test participants’ responses. The ob...

This chapter broadens the definition of product experience from definitions that view product experience as the interaction of a person and a product. In fact both experience and substantial research now show that product experience is the interaction of a person and a product in a particular context or situation. Contextual research has received f...

This study investigated the effect of consumer test format (choice versus no choice) and food neophobia and acceptability of novel flavors of salad dressing. Half of the subjects chose the salad dressings from a list (choice test) while the other half were randomly assigned dressings (no choice test). Having respondents choose a product(s) was asso...

The Five Aspects Meal Model (FAMM) integrates the main elements of the meal experience. But there is a need to put the meal into a much broader perspective in order to fully understand and appreciate the complexity of the meal. This paper will present the meal from a multidisciplinary perspective, with many different yet complementary views of meal...

Perceived intensity of bitterness of caffeine (0.5 - 1.6 g/100 mL) and of quinine HCI (0.5 - 1.6 g/L) added to hot cocoa gave similar response distributions with concentration by category scales (CS) and magnitude estimation (ME). Using caffeine additives, CS and graphic analogue scales (GS) gave similar bitterness response functions. Parabolic fun...

Consumer acceptance of food and beverage was measured in three different settings/locations: a central location test in a laboratory facility, a central location test at one unit of a national chain restaurant and a customer satisfaction survey at the same chain restaurant in multiple cities. Two main dishes (lasagna, cannelloni), salad, breadstick...

Various types of customer feedback cards were evaluated in military dining halls. Variations tested included the use of behavior/attitude questions, food attribute ratings and hedonic scales. A 4 category, 7-point scale card was selected for further use.

The article considers the role of institutional provision in the U.S. Army and the contribution of issue clothing and equipment to the subjective well-being of the soldier. It draws on focus groups undertaken with servicemen and servicewomen in the U.S. Army and their experiences as users with issue clothing and equipment. The article considers the...

Purpose Food servers are often in a unique position to influence what customers choose, which in turn may affect their enjoyment of that food. The purpose of this study, therefore, was to evaluate the influence of positive and negative comments made by servers on food choice and acceptance. Design/methodology/approach Customers using a public univ...

The relationship between laboratory and field data was investigated for nine different groupings of 5-7 foods: two main dish groupings, four snack item groupings, and three specific meals. Liking ratings on the nine-point hedonic scale were obtained in an US Army field study and for the same foods in a sensory laboratory. In a subsequent choice sim...

Laboratory data with single exposures showed that palatability has a positive relationship with food intake. The question addressed in this study is whether this relationship also holds over repeated exposures in non-laboratory contexts in more natural environments. The data were collected in four field studies, lasting 4-11 days with 307 US Army m...

Twenty years of testing in the field has consistently revealed that food intake is inadequate when packaged military rations are fed as the sole source of food. Food intake is much lower and there is a loss of body weight. Conversely when these rations are fed to students or military personnel for periods ranging from 3 to 42 days in a cafeteria-li...

Consumer acceptance of food and beverage was measured after modifying four key factors or `context effects' in five consumer central location tests: its function as a meal component, social interaction during consumption, the physical environment in which the food is selected and consumed, and food choice. One of two flavor variations each of salad...

Perceptions of a range of evening meal situations eaten in the home were explored in a female consumer population. The investigation was carried out using the repertory grid technique and using written scenarios as the research stimuli. The nine scenarios successfully manipulated perceived convenience, time and effort. A consumer-generated vocabula...

Consumption of pizza, salad and iced tea was assessed in four separate tests at a central location. Three aspects of context were added in successive tests-social interaction during consumption, the physical environment in which the food was consumed and choice among foods-so that the fourth test had all effects present. The proportion consumed ave...

Food quality and food acceptability were judged from the product alone in the early 20th century, and from the product and consumer beginning in the middle of the 20th century. Later we began to realize the importance of the context or environment in judgments of product quality and assessments of product acceptability. This paper reviews the growt...

Three different classes of variables, namely the food, individual and situation, contribute to the appreciation of food. A dish, Chicken à la King and Rice, prepared from identical ingredients and to a standard recipe, was served to consumers in a variety of settings ranging from a residential home for the elderly to a 4-star restaurant. Local cust...

The history of food acceptance research by the US Army in Chicago and Natick is reviewed. The review covers the staff of the two research centers, the research programs, and the significant accomplishments of the Army laboratories from the 1940s to the present. Accomplishments begin with the development of the nine-point hedonic scale, and the deve...

Leaving home is a time when changes in dietary intake are likely. The purpose of this study was to measure changes in students’ dietary habits from leaving home in September to start their university course, to May the following year. Three cohorts (97, 123, 157) of first-year students were surveyed over three consecutive years using food frequency...

Food quality is considered from three perspectives: the product, the consumer, and the food service environment. These are examined in the chronological order in which they developed in the food field. Product quality is still the most common usage of the term quality and originated in quality assurance/quality control with its focus on defect avoi...

In two independent demonstrations, pre-prepared food was served in different environments: first, identical prepared meals were served in both a training restaurant and in a student cafeteria; second, a prepared main dish was served in a food science laboratory class, and as part of an entire meal in two student cafeterias and in a training restaur...

Across-meal variety was operationally defined as the varying of a midday meal, whereas monotony was defined as serving the same midday meal for 5 days. Acceptance and intake of the meal declined in the monotony week and did not decline in the variety week. Acceptance levels decreased but remained high, demonstrating that monotony can occur with acc...

British students were tested three times per year immediately after entering university on a battery of tests, including eating behavior scales (Variety Seeking Tendency Scale, Food Neophobia Scale, and the Restrained Eating scale of the Dutch Eating Behavior Questionnaire). Repeated testing indicated high stability of the measured eating behavior...

Expected and actual acceptance of three unfamiliar vs. three familiar foods were examined among US subjects to determine the extent to which positive information about their origin, nutritional properties and flavor, in the presence or absence of product category information, contributed to their acceptance. Subjects (n=160) were divided into the f...

British students were tested three times per year immediately after entering university on a battery of tests, including eating behavior scales (Variety Seeking Tendency Scale, Food Neophobia Scale, and the Restrained Eating scale of the Dutch Eating Behavior Questionnaire). Repeated testing indicated high stability of the measured eating behavior...

Expected and actual acceptance of three unfamiliar vs. three familiar foods were examined among US subjects to determine the extent to which positive information about their origin, nutritional properties and flavor, in the presence or absence of product category information, contributed to their acceptance. Subjects (n=160) were divided into the f...

Fifteen male soldiers performed six maximal-effort, 20-km road marchers. They carried load masses of 34, 48, and 61 kg, using a standard military backpack with frame or an experimental doublepack. March times decreased as mass increased and were faster with the standard pack than with the double-pack. The doublepack resulted in less low back discom...

Research on determinants of food acceptance and food choice has emphasized sensory and other properties of the food, as well as psychological and physiological aspects of the person. In recent years there has been increased attention to the eating environment or context (Rozin and Tuorila, 1993; Hirsch and Kramer, 1993; Meiselman and Kramer, 1993;...

The difficulties of predicting overall meal acceptability when subjects have complete freedom to select from a wide range of possible foods are discussed, and some solutions offered in the context of a study conducted in a student cafeteria. We identified several subgroups in the data corresponding to different types of meals and modelled these sep...

Expected and actual liking for novel and familiar foods were examined under various conditions of sensory and verbal information with 121 subjects who differed in food neophobia. The possible mediating roles of uncertainty about product identity and resemblance to familiar foods were also investigated. Subjects were divided into three verbal inform...

There is much to be gained from an integration of sensory evaluation and market research to provide a full understanding of the overall evaluation and acceptance of food. This can be achieved if research paradigms and practical applications are broadened to address key issues: the choice of appropriate research subjects, the use of realistic foods...

Past laboratory and field studies show that the effort necessary to obtain food acts as a determinant of food selection and consumption. Two studies examined the impact of increasing the effort needed to obtain candy or potato chips on selection in a normal lunch setting. In the first study, food selection, acceptance and intake were obtained durin...

We investigated whether a change in the perceived ethnicity of a food can be produced without manipulating the food item itself, and if that change in ethnic perception is accompanied by a change in acceptability and food selection behavior. Italian and British foods were offered in a British restaurant for four days. Foods were offered for 2 days...

Traditionally, the sensory scientist, consumer researcher, social scientist and nutritionist have had small but significant roles in the design, development and testing of food products. Consumer scientists and market researchers sought to identify or establish a need for products. Sensory scientists studied the sensory properties of food products...

Over the past two decades a substantial body of research has developed demonstrating that foods can have an impact on behavior and mood. This phenomenon is in contrast with other functions of foods covered in this volume, because many of the behavioral effects of foods are rapid and short lived rather than slowly accumulating over time. General rev...

Key methodological issues in sensory evaluation are discussed: the selection of subjects, the types of stimuli, the environments for testing, and the actual methods. Concerning subjects, we need to sample more broadly, consider cognitive and cultural factors. The stimuli in sensory evaluation need to be suffciently complex to permit analysis of rea...

Tomato sauce, meat, cheese, and butter (recipe variable), and product names (name variable) from four pasta samples were manipulated to study their effects on the ratings of perceived ethnicity and acceptability by British subjects. The addition of an Italian name significantly increased perceived Italian ethnicity and lowered British ethnicity. Ad...

Current research in human eating is assessed from the perspective of current research methods which stress laboratory research, the use of artificial foods rather than real meals, shorter term studies, animal models, and abnormal eating models and an emphasis on sensory and physiological factors rather than social, cultural and contextual factors....

A survey of U.S. Marines was conducted in order to investigate the effect of combat, a highly stressful situation, on eating behavior. The results indicate that Marines reduced their food intake, especially during their first combat experience. The principle reason cited for reduced consumption during combat was the lack of time to eat and prepare...

The purpose of this paper is to review the role of sweetness in food service systems. Other papers in this volume deal with sweetness as a physiochemical event, a sensory event, a physiological event, a food event within narrow definitions, and a variable affecting other aspects of behavior. This paper will attempt to extend the examination of swee...

Human multiple sip drinking was simulated by repeated, alternate application of a NaCl solution and a second liquid to the anterior portion of the tongue. Judged intensity of the NaCl solution remained constant during alternation with artificial saliva, increased during alternation with water, and decreased during alternation with an identical NaCl...