Probabilistic unfolding models for sensory data

Unfolding models are conceptually appealing for the analysis of consumers' hedonic evaluations of food products. The appeal of the unfolding model is three fold; its conceptual simplicity, spatial character, and assumption of satiety - more is not always better. Unfortunately, the success of unfoldi ng models does not always match their appeal. Reformulating unfolding model s in a probabilistic framework is shown to improve their success, extend th eir application and further enhance their conceptual attraction. Data provi ded by the organizers of The Fifth Sensometrics Meeting are used to illustr ate the proposed reformulation. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights r eserved.