Votaw 1992), a reduction in the appeal of the food (Inman 2001), and goal fulfillment (Laran and Janiszewski 2009). Given our focus on changes in liking within a consumption episode (e.g., on hedonic appreciation across bites), we will focus on habituation wherein habituation refers to “reductions in both physiological and behavioral responses to eating that occur as an eating episode progresses” (Epstein et al. 2009, p. 384). In the domain of food hedonics, habituation is characterized by a decrease in the ability to appreciate flavor, as opposed to a loss in the ability to taste flavor (Rolls et al. 1983). Hedonic Escalation Hedonic escalation is an increased appreciation for an experience over repeated trials in a single consumption episode (Epstein et al. 2008, p. 254). hedonic escalation is consistent with anecdotal experiences (see the wine vignette), there is surprisingly little empirical support for the phenomenon. The lack of evidence is a consequence of the research agenda in the food hedonics literature and the motivated eating literature. Wherein both literatures have investigated adaptation, only the motivated eating literature has investigated behaviors that are consistent with a sensitization response (e.g., Bellisle and Le Magnen 1980; Cornell et al. 1989; Yeomans 1993). For example, Yeomans (1996) found that a highly palatable pasta (i.e., sauce seasoned with oregano) was eaten at an accelerated rate (e.g., more pasta was eaten in the second two minutes than in the first two minutes), whereas a less palatable pasta (i.e., unseasoned sauce) was not. Consequently, evidence for hedonic escalation must be inferred from evidence showing increased consumption, a tenuous inference given that motivation and liking are disassociated in some situations (Berridge 2009; Grabinsky, Morewedge, and Shiv 2014; Finlayson, King, and Blundell 2007; Morewedge, Huh, and Vosgerau 2010) but not others (Havermans et al. 2009; Rolls et al. 1981a).
At this point, the procedure varied according to the experimental conditions. Participants were told to taste a chip and to “try to make a memory of how good this chip tastes.” The participant was given ten seconds to taste the chip before s/he could advance to the next screen. Then, participants in the varied flavor focus condition were asked, “What is the dominant flavor of the chip?” Participants in the constant flavor focus condition were not asked to identify a dominant flavor. Next, participants in the varied flavor focus condition were told, “Please taste another chip. After tasting the chip the first time, you said you tasted [dominant flavor]. Try to taste an additional flavor when you taste the second chip.” The flavor listed by the participant after tasting the first chip was inserted into the instruction. After tasting the second chip, participants in the varied flavor focus condition were asked, “What is the additional flavor of the chip?” Participants in the constant flavor focus condition were told, “Please taste another chip. Try to make a memory of how good this chip tastes.” Then, participants in both conditions were asked, “Was the overall taste of the second chip better or worse than the taste of the first chip?” Participants responded by choosing either “Better” or “Worse.” This procedure continued for three more chips, with the varied flavor focus condition participants being asked to identify a new flavor with each additional taste. The constant flavor focus condition participants continued to focus on remembering how good the chip tasted. After tasting the food, all participants were asked product familiarity, covariate, and demand awareness questions. First, participants indicated whether they had consumed the chips previously (measured independent variable). Specifically, participants were asked, “Have you ever had these particular chips before? (yes / no).” Participants who answered “yes” were then asked how many times they had eaten the chips. Next, participants were asked about factors that
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