ORAL PERCEPTION OF SOLUTION VISCOSITY

Oral assessments of the viscosity of aqueous solutions thickened with sodium carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) were made using magnitude estimation. In one experiment, subjects judged the viscosity of low (L), medium (M) and high (H) viscosity forms of CMC. CMC‐H solutions were perceived to be significantly thinner than CMC‐L or CMC‐M solutions at equivalent physical viscosities. The data suggest that perceived viscosity is determined by averaging viscosity values over a range of shear rates. In another experiment, extreme care was taken to eliminate the possiblity of non‐oral cues in the perceptual assessment of solution viscosity. Subjects judged aqueous solutions thickened with CMC‐M. An exponent of 0.29 characterized the power function relating physical and orally perceived viscosity. Copyright © 1979, Wiley Blackwell. All rights reserved