Liisa Lähteenmäki

Quantification of Consumer Attitudes to Health and Hedonic Characteristics of Foods

Health and Taste Attitudes Questionnaires were developed to assess consumers orientations toward the health and hedonic characteristics of foods. Items were generated in a qualitative study. The original 37 items on health and 44 on taste were rated from strongly disagree to strongly agree by a representative sample of 1005 Finnish adults (18-81 years). The number of items was reduced using factor and item analysis, resulting in 20 health- and 18 taste-related statements. Three health-related and three taste-related factors were extracted. The health-related factors were labelled as General health interest, Light product interest, and Natural product interest. The taste-related factors were named Craving for sweet foods, Using food as a reward, and Pleasure. Cronbachs alphas of the multi-item scales, based on the statements loading highly on each factor, ranged from 0.67 to 0.89. Age and gender affected the responses. Females were more interested in the health and taste aspects of foods than were males. Younger respondents were less concerned with health but more interested in taste than were older respondents. A preliminary test of predictive validity was conducted by analysing subjects responses to foods with weak and strong connotations of health and taste, and currently the questionnaires are being validated with further behavioural tests.

Food neophobia among the Finns and related responses to familiar and unfamiliar foods

Abstract A representative sample of the Finns ( n =1083) rated the familiarity of 20 foods designated to be “familiar” or “unfamiliar” and willingness to try them. Subjects also filled in a 10-item questionnaire measuring their individual food neophobia. Food neophobia scores decreased with increasing education and with the degree of urbanization. Men were more neophobic than women, and the elderly (66–80 years) were more neophobic than the other age groups. Subjects with high food neophobia were less likely to have tasted or eaten the rated foods than were those with low food neophobia. Food neophobia significantly predicted the willingness to try “unfamiliar”, and also some “familiar” foods. In factor analysis, the items of the food neophobia scale loaded on two factors but the variance was mainly explained by the first factor related to the interest in new foods. The second factor may reflect a general concern about trying unknown foods. Overall, the translated food neophobia scale appeared to be a valid instrument for the characterization of consumer responses to unfamiliar foods.

Predicting the Intent to Purchase Unfamiliar and Familiar Cheeses: The Effects of Attitudes, Expected Liking and Food Neophobia

The attitude model of the theory of reasoned action (TRA) has been applied mainly to predicting the choice of familiar foods; however, the choice of unfamiliar foods may be governed by distinct factors. In the present study, 92 females rated their attitudes and subjective norms about the purchase intentions of two familiar and two unfamiliar cheeses, and the expected and actual pleasantness of them. They also completed the food neophobia scale, which measures the tendency to avoid novel foods. Neophobic persons rated the attitudes and expected and actual taste pleasantness lower than neophilics for all cheeses, except for the most familiar, mild cheese. This suggests that food neophobia also indicates the tendency not only to avoid, but also to dislike novel foods. Before tasting, attitudes and subjective norms together predicted the intent to purchase familiar cheeses better (R2=0.54 and 0.58) than for novel cheeses (R2=0.24 and 0.35); thus, the basic TRA model was not as useful in predicting intent to purchase unfamiliar as familiar cheeses. The predictions especially for the novel cheeses were clearly improved by including expected pleasantness ratings in the model. The usefulness of the food neophobia score as an additional predictor was not clearly supported. Attitudes and subjective norms measured before tasting were poor predictors of purchase intents after tasting, which implies the importance of taste and direct product experience in food choice.

Three-factor eating questionnaire and the use and liking of sweet and fat among dieters

The aim of this study was to examine whether the cognitive restraint, disinhibition and hunger factors of the three-factor eating questionnaire (TFEQ) can differentiate between low and high use, desired use and liking of various sugar- and fat-containing foods. A questionnaire with items on 44 foods and the TFEQ was obtained from 253 women taking part in weight reduction program. Principal component analysis was used to divide the foods into ten groups by their reported usage. The cognitive restraint factor was related to the reported use of some food groups such as fruit-based sweet foods, butter, margarine and regular-fat cheese, but not to the desired use or liking. High disinhibition and hunger scores were related to frequency of reported and desired use and to liking of several food groups (e.g., sweets, pastries served with coffee, fruit-based sweet foods, butter and margarine). Those scoring highest on cognitive restraint and lowest on disinhibition and hunger reported using all food groups less frequently than those with the lowest scores on restraint and the highest scores on disinhibition and hunger, except low-fat cheese and yogurt. These groups also differed in the desired use and liking of most sweet foods.

Effect of umami taste on pleasantness of low-salt soups during repeated testing.

In the present study the effects of the umami substances, monosodium glutamate (0.2%) and 5-ribonucleotides (0.05%), on the acceptance of low-salt soups in two groups of subjects, one with low-salt (n = 21) and the other with high-salt (n = 23) preferences were assessed. The groups were presented with soups containing 0.3% sodium chloride (low-salt group) and 0.5% sodium chloride (high-salt group). The subjects three times consumed leek-potato or minestrone soup with umami and three times the other soup without umami during six sessions over 5 weeks (sessions 2-7). In addition they tasted these and two other soups (lentil and mushroom soup) during sessions 1 and 8, during which they evaluated the pleasantness, taste intensity, and ideal saltiness of the soups with and without added umami. These ratings were higher when soups contained umami in both the low- and high-salt groups, and they remained higher regardless of which of the soups served for lunch contained umami. The low- and high-salt groups did not differ in pleasantness ratings, although the former rated the taste intensity of their soups higher and ideal saltiness closer to the ideal than did the latter. The pleasantness ratings of soups without umami were significantly lower at the end of the study than at the beginning, whereas those of soups with umami remained unchanged. These data suggest that the pleasantness of reduced-salt foods could be increased by addition of appropriate flavors.

Variety seeking in the consumption of spread and cheese.

Consumers (n = 807) desire for variety, as measured by the food-specific VARSEEK scale, was related to reported usage and purchase behavior for spread and cheese. Subjects scoring high in variety seeking tendency showed more exploratory tendencies in purchase behavior, vicarious exploration and use innovativeness than did those scoring low on the scale. Variation reported in the use of cheese was related to variety seeking tendency more strongly than the variation in the use of spreads. The variation in cheese purchases was particularly high for well-educated white collar workers between 31 and 50 years old and for female subjects living in urban areas of Finland. Some cross-product consistency in the variation in purchase behavior was found. The results suggest that certain product characteristics, such as sensory variation between alternatives, may determine whether the intrinsic desire for variety is expressed in product choice.

Hedonic responses, variety-seeking tendency and expressed variety in sandwich choices

The relationships between liking, variety-seeking tendency and choices were examined in six experimental lunch occasions, in which 26 young subjects freely chose sandwiches from a selection of eight fillings. Subjects rated their liking for the sandwiches during the first and sixth sessions and, among other attitude questionnaires, filled in the VARSEEK-scale which measures variety-seeking tendency. The choices were very strongly connected to hedonic responses. Contrary to expectations, the variety-seeking tendency was not related to expressed variety in sandwich choices nor did it interact with hedonic responses. The variety-seeking tendency was, however, to some extent related to appropriateness of sandwich fillings. In experimental situations where most of the externally derived variety is removed, the meaning of liking may be emphasized instead of the internal need for variety. The choice frequencies of some fillings could be explained by both liking and variety-seeking tendency, and they seem to influence choices independently.

Consistency of Liking and Appropriateness Ratings and Their Relation to Consumption in a Product Test of Ice Cream

The consistency of hedonic responses to three brands of vanilla ice cream over 5 weeks was examined using two procedures. Respondents (n = 40) came to the test after their usual lunch and rated their liking for ice creams side-by-side (three samples in one session) and after ad libitum consumption (one sample at a time). The quantity of ice cream consumed in ad libitum procedure was recorded. Respondents also assessed the appropriateness of the three samples of vanilla ice cream to ten usage situations, including as a dessert which was the context in the test situation. The consistency of hedonic responses was low over replicates (r = 0.03 to 0.48). In the side-by-side condition, only 48% of the liking responses in replicates were within one point (not at all = 1, extremely = 9), and 63% in the after-consumption condition. Some respondents ate more of all brands than other subjects did in both replicates, unrelated to differences in liking. The appropriateness ratings of brands were similar but the ratings of appropriateness as a dessert differentiated the brands. In the after-consumption condition the ratings of liking and appropriateness, together with consumption measures, appeared to be slightly more consistent at the individual level than those made in the side-by-side situation.

An application of means-end chain approach to consumers' orientation to health and hedonic characteristics of foods.

An adapted laddering technique was used to identify the way consumers perceive health and hedonic aspects of foods. In the interviews, respondents (N=47) first sorted 32 foods into four categories: (1) healthful and pleasure‐giving, (2) not healthful and pleasure‐giving, (3) healthful and not pleasure‐giving, (4) not healthful and not pleasure‐giving. Respondents then generated characteristics of foods in each category and answered questions regarding the attributes they considered to be important in terms of these foods. The laddering data were aggregated and interpreted by means of so‐called “hierarchical value maps”. The 425 terms elicited in the laddering interviews were coded into 59 categories, 22 for attributes and 37 for consequences. Several health characteristics of foods were found, such as: obtaining beneficial compounds, the importance of nutrients, reduced fat content and general health effects of foods. Essential hedonic characteristics were pleasure, taste and good sensory appeal in general. Similarities and differences among the four food categories in regard to attributes and consequences produced in the laddering interviews were analyzed by multiple correspondence analysis (MCA). Links between expressed beliefs and consequences can help to understand motivational structures underlying a choice of foods which are considered healthful or pleasure‐giving or both.

Item-by-use appropriateness of drinks varying in sweetener and fat content☆

The aim of this study was to determine whether the item-by-use appropriateness of drinks with varying sweetener and fat content are perceived differently on the basis of sensory characteristics. Participants (n = 243) were divided into four groups; each group tasted a pair of drinks. The pairs of drinks were low- and high-sweet juices, sweetened with sucrose or aspartame, non-fat and low-fat milk or chocolate milk. Participants rated the pleasantness of the samples and their appropriateness for 18 use contexts. The differences in appropriateness profiles between low-sweet and high-sweet options were distinct for juices sweetened with aspartame, so that low-sweet and high-sweet juices differed from each other in use contexts that related to pleasure. In some use contexts skimmed milk was rated as more appropriate than low-fat milk but chocolate milks with varying fat contents had identical profiles. Those who found the drinks pleasant also assessed them more appropriate in almost all use contexts. If appropriateness ratings were low, pleasantness made very little difference to the level of appropriateness.