ANTECEDENTS AND CONSEQUENCES OF EXPECTATIONS RELATED TO FAT-FREE AND REGULAR-FAT FOODS

Hedonic and sensory expectations related to fat-free and regular-fat p ound cake, crackers and American cheese were studied with 97 subjects divided into three subgroups, each testing one type of product. Four s tudy phases were separated by 1-month intervals: (1) a questionnaire o n demographics, dietary practices and consumption of the test products , (2) intensity ratings of sensory attributes and ratings of liking of unlabeled fat-free and regular-fat samples, (3) ratings of expected a ttribute intensities and liking in response to product labels of ''fat -free'' and ''regular'', and subsequent ratings of these samples and ( 4) phase 3 repeated with opposite (incorrect) labels. Fat-free product s were expected to be less liked than their regular counterparts; howe ver, only cheese was less liked in actual taste tests. Expected liking was best predicted by familiarity with the product and, in the case o f fat-free products, by the extent to which a person substituted low-f at for high-fat foods. Actual liking was best predicted by the effect of labeling and by expectations. The expected intensities of sensory a ttributes were uniformly higher in regular than in fat-free products. Both sensory and hedonic ratings of labeled samples changed in the dir ection of expectations, as compared to baseline values, supporting an assimilation model of the effect of disconfirmed expectations on senso ry perception and consumer acceptance.