The Interplay of Visual Cues and Food Memory in Shaping Culinary Perception
Journal of Culinary Science and Technology, 2026 (ESCI, Scopus)
- Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
- Basım Tarihi: 2026
- Doi Numarası: 10.1080/15428052.2026.2739538
- Dergi Adı: Journal of Culinary Science and Technology
- Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Emerging Sources Citation Index (ESCI), Scopus, Compendex, Food Science & Technology Abstracts, Hospitality & Tourism Complete, Hospitality & Tourism Index, Academic Search Ultimate (EBSCO)
- Anahtar Kelimeler: bottom-up heuristics, food memory, food perception, Image-based evaluation, top-down mechanism
- İstanbul Gelişim Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet
Özet
This study examines how food memory and visual sensory attributes jointly shape food perception by comparing two visual processing conditions within the same experimental design. A traditional dessert and its four variants were used as study samples. A total of 154 participants were divided into two groups: a food item group, which evaluated full images of the products, and the visual item group, which viewed cropped, zoom-in versions of same images. The food item group showed stronger and more consistent correlations among visual and visuo-tactile attributes, indicating influence of memory-based top-down processing. In contrast, the visual item group demonstrated more fragmented perceptions and greater variability, relying primarily on bottom-up visual heuristics. The differences between groups were significant (p < 0.05). As visual modifications increased, both groups shifted toward more visually driven evaluations under higher cognitive load. This study contributes to theoretical models of sensory perception and also offers practical implications.