Lexicon development to measure emotions evoked by foods: A review
Μαλαματένια Παναγιώτου, Konstantinos Gkatzionis
Abstract
There is rising research interest in consumers’ emotions elicited by foods. To this end, emotion lexicons as part of food-evoked emotion measurement methods have been developed. Though there are various methods and techniques for emotion measurement, verbal self-report on behalf of the consumer has been identified as the most direct means of assessing the experience of emotion. The focus of this review is mapping the development of lexicons of food-evoked emotions, and their implementation in questionnaires to identify gaps and opportunities in research and methodologies currently developed. The emotion lexicon and emotion measurement questionnaires of the last decade have been reviewed, including adaptations, and presented in a systematic way according to approach, method and technique used, and objectives of study. The manuscript is structured in such a way that it can be used both as an in-depth review of the subject and as a tool for new and future users of lexicon applications for the assessment of consumer responses. The categorization presented is useful in emotion lexicon development, product development, and marketing, in food and consumer studies in general. This review provides experts and non-experts interested in working with emotions with categorizations, available options with their advantages and disadvantages for each step of the process, from developing a food-related emotion lexicon and designing an emotion measurement questionnaire to implementing the tool and analyzing the data.