THE PSYCHOLOGY OF TASTE: How sense of taste affects our behavior

Do you know your sense of taste can affect your behaviour? You are about to discover how certain flavours do more than please your tongue, and are capable of shaping your mood and actions.

When you take a scrumptious bite of your favourite food or one you have been wanting to try out, the instant explosion of flavours on your palate is more than just physical.

Taste is deeply intertwined with our psychology and it is influenced by perception, memories and emotions. This complex interaction makes our flavour experience different, uniquely personal and memorable.

Taste is one of the most intimate senses humans have. Most of us often think of taste in terms of personal preference such as sweet, salty, bitter or spicy but there is an entire psychological landscape behind what we crave and why we react the way we do. The psychology of taste is a fascinating realm that merges biology, emotion, memory and behaviour in amazing ways.

UNDERSTANDING FLAVOURS

Flavour  perception is surprisingly complex. When you take a bite out of your ice cream cone, or bite into your potato chip, your mouth is flooded with flavour and while this experience might feel like it’s happening on your tongue, it is actually an illusion.  Fascinating right?.

According to McClintok he says ’“In some way, every sense is part of this thing we call flavor‘. He explains that ‘Neurogastronomy is about understanding what flavour is’.

The process of tasting starts even before your first bite. You smell the food’s aroma, see its shape, colour and presentation on the bowl or plate. Once you take a bite, and the food hits your taste buds, then stimulates the taste receptors that detect tastes such as sweet, sour, salty, bitter or savory( also known as umami). 

You perceive the feel of the food in your mouth, the creaminess of the ice cream and that satisfying crunch of the chips. While all these are going on, aroma from the food is carried through the  inside the mouth up into the nose.

Though the exact number is debated, 75% or more of what we think we taste we are actually smelling.

TASTE AND EMOTION: A Two-Way Street.

Specific food flavours have the power to evoke strong emotions and memories from our past. Comfort foods like warm soups, hearty stews, and creamy desserts often elicit a sense of nostalgia and well-being. The flavours in these dishes remind us of special moments from childhood, or even comforting experiences with those special people in our lives.

For example, the aroma of a freshly baked banana bread or cheese cake can transport us back to a kitchen filled with love and warmth.

Beyond nostalgic flavors, certain tastes have the ability to directly influence our mood.  A perfect example is, the consumption of foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids such as fatty fish or walnuts has been linked to reduced risk of depression and improved cognitive function. Dark chocolate also contains compounds that can simulate the release of endorphins, the feel good hormones in our bodies.

Dark chocolate 

TASTE AND DECISION MAKING

Taste can directly affect decision making, sometimes in ways we’re not even aware of.  For example, recent studies showed a link between morality and taste by demonstrating that gustatory disgust affects moral decisions. Eskine et al reported that physical disgust(a bitter taste) evoked feelings of moral disgust, and this was more prominent with participants that are politically conservative. A debate in the emotion and disgust literature is whether the visceral and moral disgust would be responded to equally as a function of taste sensitivity. Several disgust questionnaires measuring different components of visceral disgust ( core, pathogen, sexual) and moral disgust were administered along with a 6-n-propylthiouracil(PROP) taste sensitivity test. And individuals were categorized according to their responses to PROP like the super-tasters, tasters, and non-tasters. And results showed that supertasters were more responsive to all visceral components of emotional disgust than tasters and non-tasters.

Restaurants, marketers and even politicians can leverage this effect. The ambiance of a food spot, restaurant or dining place including the sequence in which flavours are presented can subtly influence outcomes. Our brains link taste with trust, reward, and emotions and this can significantly affect how people make choices.

TASTE AND CULTURE: Behavioural footprints.

Culture plays a vital role in influencing our taste preferences and behaviors. What is considered delicious and satisfying to one culture might be repulsive in another. Exemplary cases are, the fermented shark in Iceland, spicy century eggs in china or the blue cheese in France.

Cultural programming affects food choices, eating habits and social interactions. Sharing a meal from someone in your culture evokes a sense of kinship and familiarity even if you just met him/her. Likewise a feeling of discomfort and curiosity might be aroused from eating unfamiliar foods.

Taste can also become a symbol of status or identity. For example, enjoying a certain exotic food might signal sophistication and class while other tastes might be associated with comfort, simplicity and sometimes with lack of class and social standing. People often use food choices to express values, preferences or even political beliefs.

The influence of culture on food choices.

TASTE DISORDERS AND BEHAVIOURIAL  SHIFTS

When the sense of taste is lost or altered, which can happen due to illnesses, medication, or aging can lead to significant behavioral changes. People may lose interest in food and even experience weight loss. Others might gravitate towards stronger flavours to compensate, altering their dietary patterns.

This emphasizes how central taste is to overall psychological well-being. It is not just a passive sense but a dynamic player in our emotional regulation and mental health.

CONCLUSION: More Than Just Flavor.

The sense of taste is a powerful psychological force. It shapes how we feel, what we remember, and how we act. Understanding the psychology of taste reveals not only why we prefer certain flavours but also how deeply these preferences influence our behavior, often without us realizing it.

So next time you reach for your favourite snack, a savory meal, or even that one dish you have been craving, take a moment to reflect on the complex psychological journey that’s happening with every bite.