This paper discusses the relation for soaps between sensory attributes
and both liking and image attributes. A clear relation emerges betwee
n sensory attribute level and liking, but no clear relation emerges be
tween sensory attributes and image attributes. There are two possible
conclusions to be drawn from these results. One conclusion is that con
sumers can validly assign ratings to the image attribute of a soap, bu
t that there is no way to trace this image rating back to sensory inpu
ts. This conclusion suggests that more research is needed to understan
d the meaning of image attributes. The second conclusion is that consu
mers cannot validly rate the image attributes of a soap, even though t
hey can complete the questionnaire. This second conclusion implies tha
t consumers can validly rate some attributes (e.g., sensory, liking),
but not others (e.g., image), and that it may be misleading to collect
and attempt to analyze image ratings for health and beauty aids produ
cts.