Palatability shifts in taste and flavour preference conditioning

Authors: Forestell C.A.; LoLordo V.M.

Source: The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology B, Volume 56, Number 1, 1 January 2003 , pp. 140-160(21)

Publisher: Psychology Press, part of the Taylor & Francis Group

Buy & download fulltext article:

Price: $50.43 plus tax (Refund Policy)

Abstract:

Changes in palatability of tastes and flavours as a result of flavour preference conditioning were examined. In Experiment 1, when tastes were paired with glucose in a reverse-order differential conditioning paradigm, rats acquired conditioned preferences for CS⁺ and displayed more hedonic responses to CS⁺ than to CS^– in a postconditioning taste reactivity test. In Experiment 2, rats that received oral infusions of flavours as CSs during a reverse-order conditioning procedure expressed both palatability shifts and conditioned preferences for CS⁺. Rats that received a forward conditioning procedure acquired a preference for CS⁺, but the palatability of CS⁺ was unchanged. In Experiment 3, hungry rats drank mixtures of a flavour CS and a calorific or sweet tasting reinforcer in a long-exposure conditioning paradigm. When tested hungry, rats preferred CS⁺ whether they had acquired flavour–calorie or flavour–taste associations. However, CS⁺ became more palatable only for rats that acquired flavour–calorie associations. These results suggest that acquisition of flavour preferences, as measured by 2-bottle tests, may not always be accompanied by enhanced palatability.

Document Type: Research article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02724990244000232

Affiliations: 1: Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada

Publication date: 2003-01-01

More about this publication?