Harmonising flavours: How arousing music and sound influence food perception and emotional responses

This study aims to provide a novel understanding of how music and sound varying in arousal can affect temporal changes in food perception and the corresponding emotional responses, measured through both subjective and objective (i.e., electrophysiological) methods. Exciting conditions are associated with low valence and high arousal, whereas calm conditions are associated with high valence and low arousal. Calm music (CM), calm sound (CS), and a combination of calm music and sound (CMCS) evoked emotions such as joy, relaxation, calmness, pleasantness, and at ease, and were correlated with the perception of sweetness and creaminess. Conversely, exciting music (EM) increased arousal, evoked emotions such as, activity, enthusiasm, energy, and excitement, and amplified the perception of roasted and bitter flavours. Exciting sounds (ES) and combined exciting music and exciting sound (EMES) conditions were positively correlated with anxiety, fatigue, unease, unhappiness, difficulty concentrating, irritation, and restlessness, as well as enhancing the perception of roasted and bitter flavours. Furthermore, the EM and EMES conditions gave rise to significantly higher skin conductance and respiration rate, with corresponding correlations with the perception of roasted and bitter flavours. The ES and EMES conditions demonstrated significantly higher heart rate and respiration rate. The CM condition showed significantly higher heart rate and emotional responses while the CS condition showed significantly higher skin conductance. The findings of this study indicate that sensory attributes are closely associated with the emotions and physiological responses evoked when consuming ice cream under different music and sound conditions.