Using the emotion circumplex to uncover sensory drivers of emotional associations to products: six case studies

While emotional associations to products are increasingly used alongside sensory product characterisation in consumer research, studies that link these product responses remain less common. Six studies (104–270 people per study) were conducted using diverse products (salted snacks, potato chips, yoghurt, cheese, snack bars and fruit; 5–10 samples per study). To indicate their emotional response during product tasting, consumers used the emotion circumplex which is a single-response questionnaire that spans the dimensions of valence (pleasure to displeasure) and arousal (activation to deactivation). Sensory characterisation was obtained using check-all-that-apply (CATA) questions. Through regression analysis, sensory drivers of emotional associations were established, with different linkages to valence and arousal being identified. Many study-specific linkages were found, but the main result pertained to generalised patterns in some linkages including positive associations between ‘sweet’ and “pleasure”, often combined with “pleasant activation”. For ‘sour’, positive linkages were established to “activation”, typically with, or without, “negative pleasure”. Low flavour intensity was positively linked to the emotion circumplex quadrant that connected “deactivation” to “displeasure.” In general, linkages had straightforward and meaningful interpretations, confirming suitability of the emotion circumplex for use in product-focused emotion research.