Author:

Keywords:

sound, decision making, multisensory perception, sound design

Abstract:

We present the results of an on-line survey that assessed how people associate different music styles and soundscapes with food types. The participants were asked to pair a song/soundscape with one of the food types that were showed as options. They also rated – on a likert scale – how good they thought the sonic stimulus went with their choice of food. Results show that people matched most of sound-food pairs as expected, although some seem to be more influenced by cultural background than others. We believe that these insights may be useful when developing multisensory experiences that are intended to influence human decision-making. For example, a catering facility may use soundscapes to increase the consumption of a certain menu, in order to minimize the production of waste, or simply to foment a more healthy behavior when it comes to food choices.