Risk of hedonic bias in sensory co‐elicitations: Comparison of CATA questions and applicability ratings

Co‐elicitation of hedonic responses and sensory responses is now common. Against this background, this research compared the risk of hedonic bias from sensory check‐all‐that‐apply (CATA) questions and sensory term ratings from unstructured line scales (RQ1) and evaluated if the risk of hedonic bias is independent of the sensory terms of the CATA question (RQ2). Seven studies with 137–293 participants each were conducted, using different product categories. Between‐subjects experimental designs were used and allocated consumers to one experimental condition (EC). For RQ1, these were hedonic, hedonic immediately followed by a CATA question, and hedonic immediately followed by a rating of term applicability (“not at all” to “extremely”). In RQ2, both ECs involved hedonic ratings followed by a CATA question, but the sensory terms differed. Results showed a significant effect of EC on hedonic ratings in three of five studies for RQ1, suggesting that hedonic bias may or may not occur. For RQ2, the terms of the CATA question influenced hedonic ratings in two of three studies, and a negative hedonic effect was seen when CATA terms drew attention to particular characteristics of individual samples. Collectively, the results suggest that likelihood of bias depends on interactions between product category, samples, and terms. Practical applications Results from the present work suggest that hedonic bias in sensory co‐elicitations using CATA questions and scales may occur depending on the type of sensory attributes considered in the study. The consideration of terms that trigger attention to specific sensory attributes of the samples may lead to changes in hedonic ratings. Rating scales appear more likely to be associated with hedonic bias compared to CATA questions due to their more analytic approach to sample evaluation.