Measuring emotions associated with foods: Important elements of questionnaire and test design

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, 2010), a method developed to measure emotions associated with foods, and more generally, on how to measure emotions in a product development context. The results of 28 tests (Central Location Tests (CLT) and Internet Surveys) demonstrate (1) the impact of questionnaire format on hedonic and emotion responses by evaluating the results of eight internet surveys comparing the following: (1a) types of questionnaire (check all that apply versus rating scale), (1b) order of emotions (alphabetical versus random), and (1c) position of emotions with respect to overall acceptability question (before or after acceptability); (2) the difference in response when testing a product name, the aroma of the product or the flavor of the product; (3) the impact of number of samples on emotion responses in a central location test; and (4) the impact of time of day for conducting emotion tests. This paper provides a foundation and best practices for measuring emotions with consumers.

► Provide guidance on the use of the EsSense Profile® emotion questionnaire. ► While both acceptable, rating scales are more sensitive than check all that apply. ► Hedonic questions should be placed before emotions in a questionnaire. ► The context (name, aroma, flavor) has considerable effect on emotion response. ► The number of samples evaluated impacts emotion response.