Effects of extrinsic characteristics, mental simulation and repetitive exposure on the hedonic, emotional and physiological responses of consumers: A study of food choices and purchasing behaviours : A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy at Lincoln University

Abstract

In the globalization era, a multitude of new products enter the market annually. Due to the similarity in sensory properties and prices, innovators need more than traditional sensory methods to ensure product success in the market. Researchers, therefore, must understand the holistic product experience and its influence on consumer preferences. Food choices are a multi-dimensional variable influenced by physiological and psychological factors such as memory, mental simulation, sociocultural aspects, and extrinsic/intrinsic product characteristics. Consequently, food choices and purchase decisions are shaped by the multisensory information derived from products in supermarkets. The intrinsic attributes such as taste, texture, and mouthfeel perception also play a pivotal role in shaping product liking. Moreover, consumer behaviours and familiarity with novel products further influence product liking and acceptance. Therefore, this thesis’s primary aim is to comprehensively evaluate the factors influencing consumer food choices and approach-based behaviours, covering the entire spectrum from the initial encounter with a product to consumption. Additionally, the thesis aims to explore how systematic familiarization with novel products, achieved through increased awareness and repeated tasting, enhances consumer intention to try such products, thereby impacting food preferences. The impact of extrinsic attributes such as product positioning, packaging material, country of origin (COO) logo, nutritional information, and price tags on consumers’ visual attention, emotional responses, and subsequent behaviours within the supermarket setting were investigated. The study was conducted in three stages: an orientation phase for an initial overview of products, an evaluation stage where consumers individually assessed products to decipher extrinsic factors, and a final validation stage where consumers responded to attitudinal questions regarding the importance of packaging attributes. Sensory, emotional, and biometric (eye tracking and facial expressions) measurements were used to capture the consumer perception journey. The heat map results show that consumers focus their attention on products positioned at the top and centre of the supermarket shelves during the orientation stage. Glass and plastic bottles received the highest fixation count compared to other packaging types. While scanning the supermarket shelf, as indicated by Time to First Fixation (TTFF in ms), participants initially glanced at the tetra pack (3.53 ms) before shifting their attention to glass (5.23 ms). Implicit emotions provided a deeper understanding of consumers’ preferences. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) revealed an association between TTFF, engagement, and implicit negative emotions (fear, disgust, anger, and sadness) with tetra pack, tetra pack L (L stands for packaging with country-of-origin label), and pouch L. Conversely, the positive implicit emotion “joy” was associated with glass L. During the individual packaging evaluation stage, nutritional information received the highest fixation count compared to the NZ-made logo, but the NZ-made logo drove purchase intention. The study revealed that the packaging that attracted the maximum attention was not necessarily the one with the highest liking score. The consumers did not allocated significant visual attention to the price attribute despite reporting them as important factors. The study further explores how packaging attributes, such as packaging material and font colour, shape expectations and influence consumers’ approach-based behaviours, including acceptability and purchase intention. The participants evaluated tetra packs, pouches, glass, and plastic bottles using orange and white font colours in blind (tasting juice without information), expectation (evaluating packaging, no tasting), and informed (tasting juice with packaging) sessions. This analysis extends to the subsequent confirmation of these expectations after the product is tasted. The study’s results proved that packaging significantly raises expectations regarding the sensory properties of the juice. The participants perceived juice packaged in glass bottles to be fresher than plastic bottles, pouches, and tetra packs, regardless of packaging font colour. Participants had higher expectations of freshness and overall liking, which were not fulfilled during the informed session, leading to an assimilation effect. Participants penalized juice from the glass-orange bottles and tetra pack-white with declines in the liking scores, citing insufficient sourness. No penalty in liking scores was observed for the tetra pack in the informed session. Negative emotions such as "worried", "bored", and "sad" had negatively impacted approach-based behaviour in the expectation session, while positive emotions such as "happy", "enthusiastic", and "joyful" in the informed sessions positively influenced purchase intention. Therefore, marketers and product designers should prioritize understanding the overall product experience and create packaging that captures visual attention, satisfies consumers’ expectations, and evokes emotional responses, ultimately influencing consumer approach-based behaviours. The research also delves into the influence of initial awareness and repeated exposure on consumer attitudes and behaviour toward novel products, using SCOBY (Symbiotic Culture of Bacteria and Yeast) ice cream as an illustrative example. The study was conducted in three steps: a survey and two tasting sessions. The survey aimed to introduce the health benefits of SCOBY and kombucha while examining consumer attitudes and acceptance towards the novel product (SCOBY ice cream). It utilized the primary constructs (attitude, subjective norms, and perceived behavioural control) of the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) and additional constructs (emotions and food neophobia) to gain comprehensive insights into consumer behaviours. In the survey, participants who confirmed their participation in the tasting sessions were invited for blind tasting (without information) and informed tasting (with information). The study also explored the impact of the SCOBY addition in the ice cream on the texture and mouthfeel perception by measuring the particle size, tribology, and temporal dominance of sensation. In the case of a novel product such as SCOBY ice cream, initial exposure, or awareness significantly impacts consumer's attitudes and intentions to try the product. The study proved that the primary constructs of TPB significantly predicted the intention to consume SCOBY ice cream. Additionally, incorporating emotions into the constructs increased the model’s explanatory power. Attitudes, subjective norms, and emotions were the main predictors of intention, while intention and perceived behavioural control were the main predictors of behaviour. Participants’ beliefs about the safety and taste of SCOBY ice cream were significantly correlated with their intention to try the product, as were the opinions of nutritionists/dietitians, friends, and family. Overall, the model explained 21.7% of the variance in behaviour and 57.4% of the variance in intention, offering valuable insights for shaping marketing strategies for waste-to-value-added products such as SCOBY ice cream. Moreover, repeated tasting of the SCOBY ice cream after the survey significantly impacts the attitude and intention to try the novel product. Compared to the survey, there was a significant improvement in participants’ attitudes toward consuming SCOBY ice cream in tasting sessions 1 and 2. Similarly, the intention to consume SCOBY ice cream significantly increased in tasting session 2 compared to the survey and tasting session 1. Moreover, there was a significant increase in liking scores for flavour, sweetness, texture, and overall liking in tasting session 2 compared to 1. Sensory attributes such as flavour and texture, along with positive emotions such as “happy”, “pleasant”, and “interested” significantly influenced purchase intention. The study’s results suggest that repeated exposure to novel products enhances consumer acceptance and emotional responses, diverging from traditional sensory study approaches. This highlights the potential success of strategies involving repeated tasting exposure. By prioritizing the improvement of familiarity with sensory attributes such as flavour and texture, companies can positively influence purchase intention and the successful integration of innovative products into the market. Additionally, the impact of ice cream texture and mouthfeel perception on consumer preferences were further explored by measuring particle size, texture, tribological properties and temporal dominance of sensation of three samples: SCOBY ice cream and two reference samples (control and guar gum ice cream). SCOBY ice cream contains probiotics content (5.48 cfu/ml), low pH (5.50), and high titratable acidity (3.11%) than reference samples. The addition of SCOBY increased hardness (22.05 N). The frictional factor (µ) at 37˚ C was positively associated with the melting rate, grainy and thin/fluid perception while negatively correlated to firmness, smooth perception and mouthfeel liking. Additionally, the mouthfeel liking was positively related to firmness, mouth/residual coating and smooth perception while negatively associated with grainy and thin/fluid perception. The findings improve our understanding of the textural dynamics of ice cream formulations incorporating SCOBY and its impact on consumer preferences and overall liking, highlighting the importance of product characteristics in novel products. To conclude, the study underscores the significance of extrinsic attributes in shaping consumer attention and forming product expectations, influencing approach-based behaviours. Transparent packaging, such as glass and plastic bottles, elicited more positive expectations and emotions than opaque packaging, affecting consumer liking and purchase decisions. Additionally, nutritional information and country-of-origin logos played crucial roles in influencing visual attention and purchasing behaviours, showcasing the importance of provenance. Implicit and explicit emotions interacted with packaging and elicited distinct responses that affected consumers’ purchase intentions, providing a comprehensive understanding of consumer behaviour. Additionally, repeated tasting positively influenced attitudes and intentions to try novel products, underscoring the importance of consumer education in product acceptance. Sensory attributes such as texture and flavour significantly influenced product liking, highlighting the strategic importance of understanding consumer psychology and fostering positive sensory experiences for the success of innovative food products.