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Assessing Consumer Emotional Responses in the Presence and Absence of Critical Quality Attributes: A Case Study with Chicken Eggs
Author(s) -
Wardy Wisdom,
SaeEaw Amporn,
Sriwattana Sujinda,
No Hong Kyoon,
Prinyawiwatkul Witoon
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
journal of food science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.772
H-Index - 150
eISSN - 1750-3841
pISSN - 0022-1147
DOI - 10.1111/1750-3841.12930
Subject(s) - disgust , boredom , worry , quality (philosophy) , psychology , social psychology , anxiety , anger , philosophy , epistemology , psychiatry
Effects of attribute presence and absence on the emotional profile and consumer acceptability of products with varying qualities were assessed using eggs as an example. An online survey ( n = 320) was used to evaluate emotional responses and acceptability to 5 types of egg quality attributes: intrinsic, aesthetic, extrinsic, expediency, and wholesome/safety, for both present and absent conditions. Attribute absence rather than presence evoked greater consumer discriminating emotions associated with eggs. Mean emotion intensity elicited by the presence of all quality attributes ranged from 1.67 (intrinsic; guilty) to 4.05 (wholesome; good) versus 2.01 (wholesome; satisfied) to 3.29 (wholesome; disgusted) when absent. Key positive emotions elicited by presence of attributes were active, calm, good, interested, happy, safe, and satisfied; while dominant negative emotions elicited by absence of attributes included disgusted and worried. Wholesome quality (constituted by egg freshness, “packing/best‐before‐date” and absence of visible cracks) exhibited the highest liking (7.65) and emotion intensities, while the emotional responses to both the presence and absence of intrinsic quality (constituted by nutrient‐fortified egg, organic egg, and USDA‐certified farm egg) were similar, reflecting their dynamic effects on emotions. Emotions and acceptability were more correlated for attribute absence than presence; and good, happy, and satisfied emotions were strongly related to egg acceptability ( r ≥ 0.6). Egg product/packaging design can be oriented toward emphasizing wholesome and expedient attributes, since they enhance good, safe, and satisfied emotions, while minimizing disgust, worry, and boredom. The use of emotional responses and hedonic testing regarding attribute presence and absence would allow for improved selection of attributes critical to consumer acceptance of products.