Hedonic scaling

Sensory evaluation of cooked potato quality is based on appearance and mouthfeel scored by trained or untrained evaluators using some form of hedonic scale on which the assessor records the perceived value of the attribute, typically on a nine-point scale, from extreme like to extreme dislike. 

Consumer acceptance was evaluated by panels made up of 75 or more laboratory staff members who had had no recent experience with irradiated products. Panel members were not informed of the nature of the test. Each panelist received one irradiated and one nonirradiated control steak and was asked to rate each sample on over-all acceptability, using a 7-point Hedonic scale with 1.0 equal to dislike very much, 4.0 neither like nor dislike, and 7.0 like very much., Half of the panel members received the irradiated product first, and half received the nonirradiated control first. 

Peanuts roasted for various lengths of time can be successfully rated by hedonic scaling if the evaluation is separated into four sensory attributes namely strength and desirability of aroma and flavor. Panelists did readily agree on the intensity of aroma and flavor but not desirability. 

D. R. Peryan and F. J. Pilgrim, Hedonic Scales of Measuring Food Preferences", Food Technology 11. 9 (1957). 

The sensory evaluation of the jams was carried out by 60 potential consumers and the attributes appraised (appearance, aroma, texture, color, flavor and global impression) judged using a structured 9 point hedonic scale (1= disliked extremely to 9= liked extremely). The experiment was applied to a balanced complete block design according to Stone and Sidel (2004), and 20 g of each treatment presented in plastic cups codified with three digit numbers. The tests were carried out in individual booths in the food sensory analysis laboratory. The results were submitted to an analysis of variance (ANOVA) and the differences between the averages compared by the test of Tukey at 5% of probability (Cochram Cox, 1992). 

Peryam, D. R., and Pilgrim, F. J., 1957, Hedonic scale method of measuring food preferences. Food Tech., 11 9. 

The brewer and his customer make a subjective assessment of beer flavour each time they taste but for a more objective appraisal it is usually desirable to submit the beer, with suitable controls, to a taste panel. Taste panels may be used to (/) select qualified judges, (//) correlate sensory with chemical and physical measurements, (Hi) study processing effects, maintain quality, evaluate raw material selection, establish storage stability, and reduce costs, (fv) evaluate quality, and (v) determine consumer reaction [Ij. The types of test used include (/) difference tests, (ii) rank order, (Hi) scoring tests, (iv) descriptive tests, (v) hedonic scaling, and (v/) acceptance and preference tests [1]. Difference tests are most commonly used in the brewing industry, the results of which are readily analysed by statistics. Several forms of difference test are used. The A-not-A form of test is perhaps the simplest. Assessors are first familiarized with a standard A and then presented, in a random manner, either with A again or with the comparative sample B. In the paired-comparison test two samples are presented simultaneously (AA, AB, BA, or BB) and assessors report either there is a difference or there is no difference . 

Effective testing/acceptance testing By acceptance testing we mean measuring liking or preference for a product. Preference is that expression of appeal of one product versus another that can be measured directly by comparing two or more products with each other. The nine-point hedonic scale method... 

Interval scale Panelists score the samples in a structured scale, in which each value is separated by a constant interval. The exact intervals vary according to tradition (nine-point hedonic scale, 100-point scale). The psychological error of central tendency , i.e., avoidance of the endpoint scale, is frequently observed in scoring. Alternatively, a nonnumerical or graphical scale can be used, consisting of a horizontal line on which panelists mark a position on the scale the scale is then converted to centimeters for numerical analysis. Anchors are presented along with the experimental samples to illustrate minimum and maximum intensities within the test. Line scales permit fineness of differentiation among responses and are examples of continuous scales. 

Hedonic scaling The method consists in recording the extent of liking of a product on a degree of liking scale that runs from extreme dislike to extreme like . 

Hedonic scaling can be achieved using a five-, seven-, or nine-point scale. Such category scales are based on nonequal interval spacing, and for this are treated as ordinal scales. An alternative approach is to ask respondents to indicate their hedonic response... 

Figure 2.1 The 9-point hedonic scale (Peryam and Pilgrim, 1957). The subject is instructed to place a check adjacent to the statement or circle the words that best reflect their overall opinion for that product. The responses are converted to numerical values from 1 = dislike extremely to 9 = like extremely.

There are two basic methods, hedonic and paired preference. The 9-pt hedonic scale (see Fig. 2.1) is a method that has been used for more than half a century and used successfully in many countries by all ages of consumers (see Peryam and Pilgrim, 1957). It is interesting to note that the scale is bipolar with a neutral center of neither like or dislike in use, however, subjects respond as if it were an equal-interval scale, thus enabling use of the analysis of variance (AOV) and related statistical methods. 

Table 2.2 A Summary of the results from the 9-pt hedonic scale listing the % responses in each scale category for each product as well as their means and standard deviations...

Lim J and Fujimaru T. (2010) Evaluation of the Labeled Hedonic Scale under different experimental conditions. Food Qual Prefer, 21 521-530. 

Lim J, Wood A and Green BG. (2009) Derivation and evaluation of a labeled hedonic scale. Chem Senses, 34 739-751. 

Lawless HT, Cardello AV, Chapman KW, Lesher LL, Given Z and Schutz HG. (2010) A Comparison of the effectiveness of hedonic scales and end-anchor compression effects. J Sens Stud, 25 18-34. 

Being highly liked (as measured in research using a hedonic scale) is usually not enough to... 

Figures 5.11 and 5.12 plot the exponential logarithm (loge) of 52-week sales (adjusted for differences in distribution and merchandising) versus weighed purchase intent (a transformation of the proportion of definitely would buy and probably would buy ) and liking (the proportion of respondents rating the product in the top three boxes on a 9-point hedonic scale). These metrics are fairly standard in volumetric research.

Moskowitz, H.R. and Sidel, J.L. (1971) Magnitude and hedonic scales of food acceptability, ... 

Chen, A. W., Resurreccion, A. V. A. and Paguio, L. P. (1996) Age appropriate hedonic scales to measure food preferences of young children, Journal of Sensory Studies, 11, 141-163. 

Figure 23.1 Hedonic scale developed in the AUPALESENS programme,...

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