Fear Reduces Perceived Sweetness: Changes in the Perception of Taste Due to Emotional State
Naoya Zushi, Midori Ogawa, Saho Ayabe‐Kanamura
Abstract
The taste of food and beverages can depend on changes in our taste perception. Also, this change may be due to emotional state. This study manipulated the emotional state of participants by having them watch different types of movies: comedy, horror, and documentary. High state anxiety was triggered among the participants who watched a horror movie, and high juice consumption was confirmed among them. The perception of sweetness of the mixed juice was found to be reduced in the horror movie group compared with the other two groups. Also, we also confirmed the negative correlation between perception of sweetness and state anxiety. Furthermore, the relationship between liking the juice and perception of sweetness was found to differ according to emotional state. This study confirms that our emotional state affects our perception of taste, including that feeling fear and anxiety can reduce the perception of sweetness.