How consumer preferences in food are lead by sensory perception

Fiorella Sinesio

INRAN

Via Ardeatina, 546

00178 Rome, Italy 

Sensory perception is the integrated response to the sensory character of food that is its visual, olfactory, gustatory, and textural cues. It is recognised to be the basis for liking decision which in turn is a good predictor of consumer choice.

The affective response to sensory stimuli reflects a dual nature of the perception: a direct immediate effect of the sensory experience and a cognitive component related to the symbolic and associative rather then physical meaning of the sensory stimuli, which overlay the sensory experience.

Depending of the product (and of people), the cognitive component associated with the stimulus can have a relevant, or unimportant, role in the interpretation of the stimulus itself, thus influencing the sensory stimuli perception and preferences, as a consequence.

When the cognitive component is relevant, cultural and personality differences of consumers affect the perception of the stimuli (relative importance of sensory attributes and hedonic ratings of sensory attributes of food) as influences on the hedonic responses to food overall.

Cross-cultural differences, expectation, sensory based and hedonic based, familiarity of the product, demographic factors are viewed a great importance.

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