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Tasting the unexpected: disconfirmation of expectations leads to lower perceived food value in an invertebrate.

ABSTRACT: To make sensible decisions, both humans and other animals must compare the available options against a reference point-either other options or previous experience. Options of higher quality than the reference are considered good value. However, many perceptible attributes of options are value-neutral, such as flower scent. Nonetheless, such value-neutral differences may be part of an expectation. Can a mismatch between the expectation and experience of value-neutral attributes affect perceived value? Consumer psychology theory and results suggest it can. To test this in a non-human animal, we manipulated a value-neutral aspect of a food source-its taste-while keeping its absolute value-its sweetness-the same. Individual ants (Lasius niger) were allowed to drink either lemon- or rosemary-flavoured 1 M sucrose. After three successive visits to the food, we switched the taste in the last, fourth, visit to induce a disconfirmation of expectations. In control trials, ants received the same taste on all four visits. Disconfirmed ants showed lower food acceptance and laid less pheromone on the way back to the nest, even though the molarity of the food was unchanged. As ants recruit nest-mates via pheromone depositions, fewer depositions indicate that the ants valued the food less. Thus, an expectation of value-neutral attributes can influence the perceived value of a resource. Such influences of value-neutral variables on value perception may affect how animals interact with and exploit their environment, and may contribute to phenomena such as flower constancy.

SUBMITTER: Oberhauser FB

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6170749 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Tasting the unexpected: disconfirmation of expectations leads to lower perceived food value in an invertebrate.

Oberhauser F B FB Czaczkes T J TJ

Biology letters 20180901 9

To make sensible decisions, both humans and other animals must compare the available options against a reference point-either other options or previous experience. Options of higher quality than the reference are considered good value. However, many perceptible attributes of options are value-neutral, such as flower scent. Nonetheless, such value-neutral differences may be part of an expectation. Can a mismatch between the expectation and experience of value-neutral attributes affect perceived v ...[more]

PMID: 30185610

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Project description:IntroductionNutrition claims are one of the most common tools used to improve food decisions. Previous research has shown that nutrition claims impact expectations; however, their effects on perceived pleasantness, valuation, and their neural correlates are not well understood. These claims may have both intended and unintended effects on food perception and valuation, which may compromise their effect on food decisions.MethodsWe investigated the effects of nutrition claims on expectations, perceptions, and valuation of milk-mix drinks in a behavioral (n = 110) and an fMRI (n = 39) study. In the behavioral study, we assessed the effects of a "fat-reduced" and a "protein-rich" nutrition claim on expected and perceived food attributes of otherwise equal food products. In the fMRI study, we investigated the effect of a "protein-rich" claim on taste pleasantness perception and valuation, and on their neural correlates during tasting and swallowing.ResultsWe found that both nutrition claims increased expected and perceived healthiness and decreased expected but not perceived taste pleasantness. The "protein-rich" claim increased expected but not perceived satiating quality ratings, while the "fat-reduced" claim decreased both expected and perceived satiating quality ratings. In the absence vs. presence of the "protein-rich" claim, we observed an increased activity in a cluster extending to the left nucleus accumbens during tasting and an increased functional connectivity between this cluster and a cluster in right middle frontal gyrus during swallowing.ConclusionAltogether, we found that nutrition claims impacted expectations and attenuated reward-related responses during tasting but did not negatively affect perceived pleasantness. Our findings support highlighting the presence of nutrients with positive associations and exposure to foods with nutrition claims to increase their acceptance. Our study offers insights that may be valuable in designing and optimizing the use of nutrition claims.

Project description:BackgroundAlthough much has been written about structure and outcomes of medical students' curricular research projects, less attention has been paid to the expectations on such projects. In order to foster students' scientific understanding and improve the quality of mandatory research projects, we compared students' pre-course expectations with their post-course insights regarding learning and transferable skills.MethodsA prospective cross-sectional questionnaire study. All students registered on a mandatory 20-week research project course in 2011-2013 were e-mailed questionnaires in the beginning and after the course asking them to rate statements on expectations and perceived learning on a 5-point Likert scale. Of 652 students, 358 (mean age 26 years; range 21-49; 63% females) returned both questionnaires, corresponding to a response rate of 55%.ResultsThe ratings for expectations as well as perceived learning were highest for learning to search and critically appraise literature. The greatest pre- and post-course differences were indicated for participation in scientific discussions and oral communication. Surprisingly, both pre- and post-course ratings were low for research ethics. The highest post-course ratings regarding skills for future working life were given to items pertaining to understanding the scientific basis of medicine, ability to follow the development of knowledge and to critically integrate knowledge. Female students had higher expectations than male students. Those with a previous university degree had lower ratings of expectations and perceived learning. Students with basic science projects reported higher expectations and higher learning compared to students with other projects. Previous research experience had no significant influence on expectations nor learning. The correlations between post-course ratings of learning and skills showed that problem-solving ability had a relatively high correlation with all skills.ConclusionsStudents had high expectations and perceived the course improved crucial practical skills. However, expectations were not quite met regarding aspects of scientific communication, and hypothesis formulation, likely because these require more extensive practice and feedback. Students should be actively involved in ethical discussions and oral communication should be trained repeatedly as it is an important task of doctors to communicate scientific information to patients and non-experts.

Dataset Information

Tasting the unexpected: disconfirmation of expectations leads to lower perceived food value in an invertebrate.

Publications

Tasting the unexpected: disconfirmation of expectations leads to lower perceived food value in an invertebrate.

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