Article ID: 2024.A.04
Individuals have less desire for foods they eat repeatedly than for foods they have not eaten. This is called sensory-specific satiety (SSS), and it motivates people to eat a variety of foods. This psychological study examined the influence of a variety of food shapes on SSS using a four-shaped food product known as Chicken McNuggets®. Twenty participants completed three phases: first rating, preload and second rating. During the first rating, participants ate one nugget and rated their feelings, such as pleasantness or boredom. During the preload phase, half of the participants consumed six nuggets of the same shape as that of the first rating. The other half ate six nuggets comprised of four different shapes. During the second rating, all participants ate a nugget of the same shape as that of their first rating and rated their feelings. The results showed that participants who had eaten only one shape had a greater decrease in pleasantness and an increase in boredom than those who had eaten four shapes. These findings provide evidence that SSS decreases with varied food shapes and support the view that food-shape variety acts as a cue for estimating food variety overall.
