Sensory Complexity: From Sensory Measurement to Consumption Behavior

Abstract

Sensory analysis is a multidisciplinary field that includes the measurement, interpretation, and understanding of human responses to the sensory properties of products and it is essential to explore consumer behavior. Understanding consumer preferences is key to the development of the food industry, but consumer behavior is complex because of the diversity of factors influencing food choice. The attitude of the consumer results from the multiple attributes perceived of a product and depends on the importance assigned to each of them. This perception has the following three dimensions: a cognitive (knowledge), an affective (attitude, feelings) and a conative (behavior, purchase intention, and actual purchase) dimension. As a consequence, external cues such as the availability of resources, nutritional value, sensory quality or socio-environmental impact of the production, as well as internal cues, such as age, gender, educational level, incomes or cultural background, will affect both consumers’ behavior.