The Effects of Color on Flavor Ratings Stephanie Mattson Denise White

Existing Relevant Research n Previous research has found that color plays a large role in proper identification of dyed food and drink. n Color was found to have a major impact of how beverage sweetness is perceived n Color was found to have great influence on flavor ratings.

Hypothesis n Drinks in which the expected color and flavor match will have higher means than the mismatched color and flavor. n Example : The cherry drink that is dyed red and the lime drink that is dyed green will have higher means than the other drinks; for example, peach drink dyed green.

Test Design n 3x3 factorial within-subjects design n First Independent Variable - The flavor of the drinks n Three levels of IV- (1) Wild Cherry (2) Peach (3)Lime n Second Independent Variable-The color of the drinks n Three levels of IV - (1) red (2) left clear (3) green

Test Design Continued n Two Dependent Variables - (1) ratings of color preference (2) ratings of flavor preference

Participants n 40 females living in Whitman house were asked to be a part of the study n They were informed that food coloring would be used and asked not to participate if they had any allergies n Ages of the participants ranged from (M= 19.55, SD=1.81)

Procedure n Using previously determined order, the drinks were dyed randomly; for example, one participant could be given a cherry drink dyed green first, and another participant could be given a lime drink left clear first. n Drinks were placed in order according to random assignment before the participant showed up

Procedure Continued n A counter-balanced chart was created to follow order of drink presentation n Signed consent form n Were given nine drinks each, one by one. n Each drink was a combination of cherry - dyed red, clear, green, peach - dyed red, clear and, green, and lime - dyed red, clear, and green.

Procedure Continued n The participant looked at the drink and rated the color’s appearance on a 9 point Likert-type rating scale with anchors unappealing to appealing n The participant then tasted the drink and rated it again on another 9 point Likert-type rating scale with anchors disgusting to great

Procedure Continued n The participant was instructed to drink as much of the drink as they wanted, the remainder was poured out n The participants were given debriefing forms and contact information

How the Results Were Measured n A repeated measures test was conducted using the color ratings and the flavor ratings n Descriptive statistics were also performed

Results n Results NOT significant tested at  = 0.05 n There was no main effect for color ratings n F (2,78) = 1.38, p = n There was no main effect for flavor ratings n F (2,78) = 0.577, p = 0.564

Results Continued n For flavor rating, no main effect was found for color of drink n F (2,78) = 0.038, p= n For flavor on the flavor rating scale, no main effect was found n F (2,78) = 1.22, p= n No interaction took place n F (4, 156) = 0.859, p = 0.490

Results M and SD for Cherry dyed: red , 2.22 clear-5.77, 2.28 green M and SD for Lime dyed: red-5.87, 2.15 clear-5.72, 2.14 green-5.72, 2.09 M and SD for Peach dyed: red-5.65, 2.28 clear-5.82, 2.13 green-6.02, 2.25 n Grand M = 5.76 n SD = 0.240

What Does That Mean ? n Hypothesis is not supported n All the means were very similar resulting in no significance. Color was found not to affect the ratings of color and flavor preference for the drinks

Discussion n Findings contradict the literature that was found in other studies n In all studies color was found to have a major influence on ratings

Discussion n Subjects came into the study with pre-formed personal preferences for the flavors used n This also was a factor for personal preference for color n Possible error in entering results into SPSS n Order for which participants were instructed to complete each rating scale n Subjects may have tried to please the experimenters - tried to get the “right” answer n Colds etc. affecting taste

Suggestions n Introduce more flavors and colors in addition to the three already listed n Counter-balance the order in which scales were given n One scale per page n Run one subject at a time n Assure the subjects that there is no “right” answer