Multisensory interaction between vision and flavor: Watching video has a positive influence on the evaluation of green tea and coffee compared to picture

Food, clothing and shelter are essential factors that make our everyday life comfortable and satisfying. However, there are few living environment studies related to eating and the associated factors. In this study, we focus on extrinsic visual factors that belong to non-food objects. Recently, it is more likely to see people exposed to dynamic visual presentation using videos in eating situations, as well as in other situations, and it is worthwhile to explore the impact of dynamic visual stimuli on flavor and the drinking experience. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether video stimuli can change the evaluation of bitter beverages, compared to picture stimuli. In a preliminary experiment employing video and picture stimuli, the results indicated that videos were perceived as more comfortable and that they drew the participants’ attention more than pictures. In the main experiment, the participants evaluated coffee and green tea, selected as representative bitter beverages, while watching video or picture stimuli projected on a screen. The results showed that the mean ratings of nonspecific evaluations (not regarding bitterness itself), that is, ‘Deliciousness’, ‘Satisfaction’ and ‘Wanting to drink more’ were significantly higher for the video condition, compared with the picture condition (in a six-point scale ranging from 0 to 5, ‘Deliciousness’ showed +0.71, ‘Satisfaction’ showed +0.87 and ‘Wanting to drink more’ showed +0.75). Watching the video did not affect the specific evaluations (regarding bitterness itself; i.e. intensity and liking of bitterness). These results suggested that video stimuli can influence flavor and drinking experience in a positive manner. The comfort of and attention toward extrinsic visual stimuli might improve the drinking experience. Our findings may help improve the experience people have with bitter things, and in addition to regular dining situations, it is possible that watching video may also be useful in medical, nursing and parenting situations.