The relevance of initial hedonic judgements in the prediction of subtle food choices

The relevance of hedonic judgements, commonly used for product launch decisions in the food industry, is questioned in two experiments, in which such a judgement is followed by a second judgement in the form of a choice between the products just tested. The influence of repeated exposure on the development of preference is also studied. The first study compares three soft drinks, in a design based on an alternation of laboratory measurements and home exposure to one of the drinks by different groups. The second one consists of repeated measurements at home of all three drinks (spirits this time). The results of both experiments question the stability of preferences. A considerable amount of preference change is observed within sessions, and a development of preference over sessions is clearly shown in the choice behavior, but not in the hedonic judgement. According to psychological theories, the wish for perceptual variety, the exploratory context of exposure, stimulus properties like novelty and complexity, and the individual state of the subject are among the factors that might explain such preference changes. Finally, difficulties encountered in the construction of adequate methods for the measurement of dynamic preferences, are discussed.