The relevance of initial hedonic judgements in the prediction of subtle food choices

The relevance of hedonic judgements, commonly used for product launch decis ions in the food industry, is questioned in two experiments, in which such a judgement is followed by a second judgement in the form of a choice betwe en the products just tested. The influence of repeated exposure on the deve lopment of preference is also studied. The first study compares three soft drinks, in a design based on an alternation of laboratory measurements and home exposure to one of the drinks by different groups. The second one cons ists of repeated measurements at home of all three drinks (spirits this tim e). The results of both experiments question the stability of preferences. A considerable amount of preference change is observed within sessions, and a development of preference over sessions is clearly shown in the choice b ehavior, but not in the hedonic judgement. According to psychological theor ies, the wish for perceptual variety, the exploratory context of exposure, stimulus properties like novelty and complexity, and the individual state o f the subject are among the factors that might explain such preference chan ges. Finally, difficulties encountered in the construction of adequate meth ods for the measurement of dynamic preferences, are discusssd. (C) 1999 Els evier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.