Two explanations exist in the literature for consumption-related pleasantness reduction: sensory-specific satiety and alliesthesia. Sensory-specific satiety describes the phenomenon that the sensory characteristics of an eaten food decline in pleasantness, whilst alliesthesia predicts that pleasantness depends on internal need. Experiment 1 investigated the contribution of both phenomena to consumption-related pleasantness reduction in a snack context. This was important since the presence of negative alliesthesia was questionable and recovery from sensory-specific satiety remained to be explored. There was no evidence for alliesthesia and although the results suggested the presence of a low threshold for a rapid, uniform and small effect of energy on pleasantness, no such threshold was evident in Experiment 2. Subsequent experiments explored sensory-specific satiety in greater depth. Experiment 4 investigated the effect of current energy needs on sensory-specific satiety and Experiment 5 the effect of food presence in the gastro-intestinal tract. Experiment 3 was a methodological study designed to determine the most appropriate portion size for these experiments. Both these post-ingestive variables had no effect, and in Experiments 1, 2 and 4, sensoryspecific satiety was unaffected by nutrient intake. Experiment 6 investigated an effect of flavour intensity but pleasantness reduction was minimal in each condition. This may partly have been due to the absence of an uneaten sensory contrast, as such a contrast enhanced sensory-specific satiety in Experiment 7. Experiment 8 reinvestigated the effect of flavour intensity and the effect of an uneaten sensory contrast. In this instance, an uneaten sensory contrast had no effect, possibly because the methodology interfered with pleasantness reduction. There was a trend for an effect of flavour intensity but this was complicated by differential initial liking. In conclusion, the results suggest that sensory-specific satiety contributes to consumption-related pleasantness reduction in a snack context but not alliesthesia. Sensory-specific satiety may generally be more transient in a snack context, and sensory and cognitive variables may influence this phenomenon but not post-ingestive feedback.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:421727 |
| Date | January 2005 |
| Creators | Atton, Eleanor Rachael |
| Publisher | University of Sussex |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
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