Title |
As bitter as a trombone: Synesthetic correspondences in nonsynesthetes between tastes/flavors and musical notes
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Published in |
Attention, Perception, & Psychophysics, October 2010
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DOI | 10.3758/app.72.7.1994 |
Pubmed ID | |
Authors |
Anne-sylvie Crisinel, Charles spence |
Abstract |
In parallel to studies of various cases of synesthesia, many cross-modal correspondences have also been documented in nonsynesthetes. Among these correspondences, implicit associations between taste and pitch have been reported recently (Crisinel & Spence, 2009, 2010). Here, we replicate and extend these findings through explicit matching of sounds of varying pitch to a range of tastes/flavors. In addition, participants in the experiment reported here also chose the type of musical instrument most appropriate for each taste/flavor. The association of sweet and sour tastes to high-pitched notes was confirmed. By contrast, umami and bitter tastes were preferentially matched to low-pitched notes. Flavors did not display such strong pitch associations. The choice of musical instrument seems to have been driven primarily by a matching of the hedonic value and familiarity of the two types of stimuli. Our results raise important questions about our representation of tastes and flavors and could also lead to applications in the marketing of food products. |
X Demographics
Geographical breakdown
Country | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
United States | 2 | 33% |
United Kingdom | 1 | 17% |
Unknown | 3 | 50% |
Demographic breakdown
Type | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Members of the public | 5 | 83% |
Scientists | 1 | 17% |
Mendeley readers
Geographical breakdown
Country | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
United Kingdom | 4 | 3% |
Germany | 1 | <1% |
Colombia | 1 | <1% |
Sweden | 1 | <1% |
United States | 1 | <1% |
Unknown | 119 | 94% |
Demographic breakdown
Readers by professional status | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Researcher | 24 | 19% |
Student > Master | 18 | 14% |
Student > Ph. D. Student | 16 | 13% |
Student > Bachelor | 10 | 8% |
Other | 8 | 6% |
Other | 24 | 19% |
Unknown | 27 | 21% |
Readers by discipline | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Psychology | 37 | 29% |
Business, Management and Accounting | 11 | 9% |
Arts and Humanities | 11 | 9% |
Agricultural and Biological Sciences | 10 | 8% |
Social Sciences | 6 | 5% |
Other | 25 | 20% |
Unknown | 27 | 21% |