Interrelations among liking attributes for apple pie: Research approaches and pragmatic viewpoints

Liking is a key measure for applied product development. All too often, how ever, the liking attributes are simply reported, but other than analyzing o verall liking ratings no other analysis is done on the ratings. Much more r emains for applied product testers to learn from these liking attributes. T his paper presents a detailed analysis of the interrelations among differen t liking attributes for apple pie. It shows that panelists discriminate amo ng samples using different liking scales, but many of these scales correlat e with each other creating a great deal of redundancy in the list of attrib utes. Factor analysis reveals one major dimension for liking of the entire pie, and three dimensions for liking of slices. A different way of analysis shows potentially more utility for developers. A linear model relating ove rall liking to each attribute liking reveals different slopes, suggesting d ifferent importance levels for the attribute liking scales. Furthermore, on e can create an integrated liking model. ne liking ratings can be combined into a single, overall product model, allowing the researcher to understand how changes in one liking attribute simultaneously affect all other liking attributes.