Please enable JavaScript.
Coggle requires JavaScript to display documents.
TASTE PERCEPTION -
Taste refers to the sensory experience of a substance…
TASTE PERCEPTION -
Taste refers to the sensory experience of a substance that is placed in the mouth and perceived as a flavour
Five Basic Tastes
Bitter: produced by a variety of different substances that are undesirable or unpalatable. Toxic chemicals produced by poisonous plants taste bitter therefore it has survival functions
-
Sweet: is caused by consuming sugary foods ................... eg. lactose, fructose and saccharine
-
Umami: is a rich, mouth filling taste in protein- based foods due to the presence of glutamate
eg. meat, cheese and MSG
R.T.T.I.O
Reception: the chemical molecules found in food are dissolved by saliva when chewed, allowing the chemicals to stimulate the taste receptors located in taste buds
Transduction: the chemical energy is converted in electrochemical nerve signals by the taste receptors to be transmitted to the brain
Transmission: the nerve impulse travels down the taste nerves to the thalamus and to the gustatory cortex in the parietal lobe for perception
Interpretation: involves the sense of taste, smell, vision and touch (texture) leading to an interpretation of flavour
Influences on taste perception - the perception of flavour is more than when out taste buds are stimulated. Sight, smell, texture and taste all influence perception
Biological factors
Age: children have more taste receptors - explains their fussiness to foods. The aversion to bitterness protects from poisonous foods.
From the age of 40 taste buds do not regenerate as quickly as they die contributing to a decline in sensitivity to taste. In elderly theres also a decline in sense of smell which effects taste.
Genetics: genetic differences make us more or less sensitive to the chemical molecules in different foods
25% of people are non-tasters
25% of people are super-tasters
50% of people are normal
Psychological factors
Perceptual Set in taste refers to a predisposition or readiness to taste something in certain ways. Seeing food triggers memories that influence your perception ( past experience)
-
-
Social factors
Culture: taste preferences are largely learned and are influenced by social process such as culture and child rearing
Judgement of flavours
Flavour perception: is a perceptual experience produced by a combination of taste and other sensations
detects temperature, pain, texture and auditory sensation
Perceptual set: the flavours we experience is influenced by expectation based on preconceived ideas about how foods should taste. We judge based on how food should look. Eg. Blue chicken wouldn't taste good
Colour intensity: colour tends to dominate over other sensory information when it comes to influencing our expectations about taste and flavour of food
Brighter or darker/deeper coloured food can seem to taste different to blander coloured food even when ingredients are the same
eg. different coloured orange juice or food die in cordial
Texture: texture is the property of food/ beverage that is felt in the mouth and contributes to flavour
It helps to determine how much of its surface area can come into contact with our taste receptors. Thicker liquids and rich foods coast the mouth and spend more time exposed to the taste receptors than thinner liquids and finer foods and therefore seem more flavoursome
eg. crispy, crunchy, grainy and creamy
Perceptual Distortions
A perceptual distortion involves an inconstancy or "mismatch" between a perceptual experience or physical reality
-
Muller-Lyer illusion is when 2 lines of equal length and one is perceived longer due to the opposite shaped ends
-
Social Expectations
-
race, education or training may be relevant in experiencing the illusion
-
Synaesthesia is a perceptual experience in which stimulation of one sense produces additional unusual experiences in another sense