Ang Gusto Ko Lang Naman Ay McDo Fries! Or is it Jollibee Fries?

 Did you ever have a debate about which fast food chain is better? Or, did you ever experience a dilemma on where to eat?

Well, these debates and dilemmas are possible because of our different abilities to differentiate the tastes of food. Some people may not be able distinguish which batch of fries is from McDo and which one is from Jollibee. Then, some can!  But what is the explanation for this?

 

This is because of people’s dissimilar levels of sensitivity towards the various details of food. In a more scientific sense, we can say that people have different levels of difference threshold. The difference threshold (Differenze Limen) is the smallest difference between two stimuli that a person can detect (Goldstein, 2010). To apply this to our McDo-Jollibee dilemma, let us have two fast food lovers, Sab and Belle.

Sab is a very observant girl, she notices the smallest things. In fact, she is able to tell which fries are from which fast food based on the oil content or the width of the slices of the potatoes. On the other hand, Belle is less of an observer. She just loves eating fries, and doesn’t care where it is bought. Actually, she can’t detect which fast-food chain serves crispier and longer fries. With these cases, we can say that Sab needs a smaller difference between two batches of fries in order to detect where it was from than Belle needs.

Aside from the differential threshold, they are more elements why people experience dilemmas on choosing where to eat. Some people focus more on the ambience of the place. As in, people go to that place because of the aroma of the food and drinks are simply irresistible  Then, there are some who value the friendliness of the crew. Of course, there are some who are picks the place because of the price range. Lastly, some focuses on the taste of the food. Some even dwell into the detail, like the combination of textures. Can you now imagine the crispy outside but the soft chewy inside type of food? Well, this is not just common sense. In fact, there is a study which argues that when we eat, multiple senses, taste, smell and touch, combine to form flavour (Stevenson, 2013). But, there is another sensory modality which wants to be included, vision.

Have you ever seen posts on those scrumptious and mouth-watering photos of various kinds of food? These pictures may serve as evidence that in food, for some people, LOOKS DO MATTER. In humans, detecting, identifying and selecting food principally involve the visual system. Moreover, Spence & Piqueras-Fiszman (2012, as cited in Stevenson, 2013) explains that foods are almost always visually identified before being place into our mouths. In vision, this includes the color influences on perceived flavor. However, there are also some researchers who disagree in the inclusion of vision as a part of the flavour percept. For example, Stevenson and Oaten (2008, as cited in Stevenson, 2013), argues that there is uncertainty over what these visual influences represent, namely, demand versus top-down alterations in flavor perception.

So, after reading this post, I have some questions for you! Feel free to answer them in the comment box!

1.      Do you believe vision has to be taken as a part of the flavor percept?

2.     What do you value most in picking the place where you want to eat?

3.     Are you more of a “Sab” or a “Belle” in terms of the difference threshold?

4.     Lastly, simply pick: McDo fries or Jollibee fries?

===Trazo, Gaea Isabel D.===

References:

Stevenson, R. J. (2013). Flavor Binding: Its Nature and Cause. Psychological Bulletin, doi:10.1037/a003347

Goldstein, E. B. (2010). Sensation and peception. (8th ed.). Belmont, California: Wadsworth, CENGAGE Learning

Images: 
http://ts1.mm.bing.net/th?id=H.4945703138493544&pid=15.1
http://ts2.mm.bing.net/th?id=H.4842284692211761&pid=15.1
http://ts4.mm.bing.net/th?id=H.4754860619074115&pid=15.1