Contextual Considerations in Experimental Food Research and Policy

Abstract

A food or beverage, depending on the situation, may be judged in a different way, even by the same individual. The impacts of these context effects on food judgments and decision making, and how to take them into account in the collection and interpretation of consumer data, are key topics in sensory and consumer sciences. This chapter aims to provide an overview of the debate and current scientific advances on context effects in the case of research related to the perception, the selection, and the consumption of food. We discuss the empirical evidence of these effects and present a theoretical framework to explain them. Then, we draw implications, questions, and current directions from the angles of research methodologies. Finally, we discuss the context issues from the angle of policy-making and new product design.