Auditory Seasoning
Lead PI
Co PIs
- Akito van Troyer, (Berklee College of Music)
- Quin Janice Wang, (University of Copenhagen)
Abstract
The experience of what we eat depends not only on taste, but also on other sensory feedback. Perceptual research has shown the potential of altering visual, olfactory, or textural food cues to affect flavor, texture, and satiety. Recently, the HCI community has leveraged such research to encourage healthy eating, but the resulting tools often require invasive or additional devices. Ubiquitous and unobtrusive, audio feedback-based tools could alleviate those drawbacks, but research in this area has been limited to food texture. We expand on prior psychology research by exploring a wide range of auditory feedback styles to modify not only flavor attributes but also appetite-related measures. We have developed mobile tools that offer curated audio modes to alter chewing sounds to significantly influence food perception and eating behavior beyond texture alone.