Consumer perception tests

Consumer perception tests might be used to determine perceptions of a product. They are typically given to 100 or more consumers, who are provided with enough products to use for one to two weeks. Consumers are asked to fill in a questionnaire after product usage, in which they are asked about their perception of the product. 

We have seen that in the short term, the changes in skin due to cleansing primarily manifest as changes in sensory perception. Consumer perception methods are the primary means of assessing the transient onset of tightness and itch. Naive panels can provide comparative data among several cleansers tested but can not provide consistent quantitative measure of performance. Expert panels... 

The softener performance perceived by consumers is the balance between the absolute efficacy determined in the laboratory and the product aesthetics. In other words, the consumer perception of the product performance is heavily influenced by aesthetic attributes such as fragrance and viscosity. Consumer tests indeed show that perfume, and more precisely perfume substantivity on fabrics, is the main reason for preferring one product among several delivering the same softness. Consumers appreciate both the odor of the product itself, which generates the appeal and causes the purchase intent, and the smell of the laundered fabrics, which settles the repurchase intent. 

In sensory and consumer science studies, one of the common basic goals is to explore how the products differ in terms of the measures collected. Usually Chi-square is calculated to evaluate differences in the consumers perception of the products. This can be first done globally, to test the independence between the rows and columns of the contingency table, and then per cell to evaluate if each category term is able to detect significant differences in the perception of the labels shown (Symoneaux et al, 2012). 

This type of test is frequently used by practitioners, as it provides relevant information about consumers perceptions and expectations of the products. In this way, the practitioners and product developers are getting information from the nnain actors in the market, namely the consumers. 

The determination and analysis of sensory properties plays an important role in the development of new consumer products. Particularly in the food industry sensory analysis has become an indispensable tool in research, development, marketing and quality control. The discipline of sensory analysis covers a wide spectrum of subjects physiology of sensory perception, psychology of human behaviour, flavour chemistry, physics of emulsion break-up and flavour release, testing methodology, consumer research, statistical data analysis. Not all of these aspects are of direct interest for the chemometrician. In this chapter we will cover a few topics in the analysis of sensory data. General introductory books are e.g. Refs. [1-3]. 

Cole and co-workers67 examined perceived exertion and work output using a cycle ergometer with 10 healthy males, 8 of whom were classified as caffeine naive. In the experimental trials, subjects consumed 6 mg/kg caffeine 1 h before testing. Caffeine significantly improved work performance, even though the perception of effort was held constant for each trial. Subjects did more work on caffeine even while they were instructed to work at a predetermined RPE during both experimental and placebo trials. 

According to the theory of Zoeteman, the taste perception of water is a very good method of local control. We had taste tests carried out in Rotterdam, the Hague, and other big cities by the so-called consumer panels—not trained people, just consumers—and we let them rate the taste of the water. Well, we worked it out statistically and showed that the method was excellent. Now we polish the water treatment methods on the basis of taste perception. It is not expensive. It works quite well. 

ORGANOLEPTIC. A term widely used to describe consumer testing procedures for food products, perfumes, wines, and the like in which samples of various products, flavors, etc. are submitted to groups or panels. Such tests are a valuable aid in determining the acceptance of tlie products and thns may be viewed as a marketing technique, They also serve psychological purposes and are an important means of e valuating the subjective aspects of taste, odor, color, and related factors, The physical and chemical characteristics of foods are stimuli for the eye, ear, skin, nose, and mouth, whose receptors initiate impulses that travel to the brain, where perception occurs. 

Assay Dissolve about 1 g of sample, accurately weighed, in 50 mL of water, add 50.0 mL of 0.05 M disodium EDTA and 20 mL of pH 4.5 buffer solution (77.1 g of ammonium acetate and 57 mL of glacial acetic acid in 1000 mL of aqueous solution), and boil gently for 5 min. Cool, and add 50 mL of alcohol and 2 mL of dithizone TS. Back titrate with 0.05 M zinc sulfate to a bright rose-pink color. Perform a blank determination (see General Provisions), and make any necessary correction. The milliliters of 0.05 M disodium EDTA consumed is equivalent to 50 minus the milliliters of 0.05 M zinc sulfate used. Each milliliter of 0.05 M disodium EDTA is equivalent to 23.72 mg of A1K(S04)2T2H20. Ammonium Salts Add 1 g of sample to 10 mL of 1 N sodium hydroxide in a small beaker, and heat on a steam bath for 1 min. The odor of ammonia is not perceptible. Fluoride Determine as directed in Method V under Fluoride Limit Test, Appendix IIIB. 

Sensations perceived in the mouth during mastication may vary between subjects, but their acceptability will certainly reflect cultural as well as physiological and psychological differences. Tests for sensory assessment of texture aim at understanding how the food feels in the mouth. They may be classified into those where consumers are constrained to record only their perception of in-mouth stimuli (e.g., trained panel assessment) in other words, they are asked to perform as an analytical instrument. Alternatively, consumers are asked to record their judgment against requirements of quality (e.g., preference testing) where perceptions are related to expectation. Sensory assessment of texture is described in many texts, for example, Kilcast (2004). 

Most mechanical tests developed for fats are empirical in nature and are usually designed for quality control purposes, and they attempt to simulate consumer sensory perception (3, 4). These large-deformation tests measure hardness-related parameters, which are then compared with textural attributes evaluated by a sensory panel (3, 5). These tests include penetrometry using cone, pin, cylinder and several other geometries (3, 6-12), compression (13), extrusion (13, 14), spreadability (15, 16), texture profile analysis (2), shear tests (13), and sectility measurements (14). These methods are usually simple and rapid, and they require relatively inexpensive equipment (3, 4, 17). The majority of these tests are based on the breakdown of structure and usually yield single-parameter measurements such as hardness, yield stress, and spreadability, among others (4, 17-20). The relationship between these mechanical tests and the structure of a fat has, however, not been established. The ultimate aim of any materials science endeavor is to examine the relationship between structure and macroscopic properties. 

The test started with the presentation of a screenshot of KomPaKt, similar to the one in Fig. 5.54. Then, the participant was asked to name the objects shown, such as buttons for different communication and cooperation services, to test the self-descriptiveness. Second, three screenshots showing different states of the software were shown. The interviewee briefly described their perception and then tried to reproduce these states on his/her own. Third, the participant had to solve three simple tasks, e.g. Please connect to the network . Here, the time consumed was recorded, whereas in the first and second part of the test just a right or wrong was noticed. Finally, the IsoMetrics-questionnaire [687, 1054] was used to capture the subjective usability estimation of each participant. 

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