Sweet love: The effects of sweet taste experience on romantic perceptions

• Main Authors: DONGNING, Ren, TAN, Kenneth, ARRIAGA, Ximena B., CHAN, Kai Qin
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University 2015
• Subjects: Attraction; metaphors; romantic interest; romantic relationships; sweet taste; Cognition and Perception; Cognitive Psychology
• Online Access: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/soss_research/3424; https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/context/soss_research/article/4681/viewcontent/0265407514554512.pdf
• Institution: Singapore Management University

Terms of endearment such as sweetie, honey, and sugar are commonly used in the context of describing romantic partners. This article explores how a relatively subtle manipulation, namely taste sensations, might influence romantic perceptions of a nonestablished relationship. Consistent with predictions, results from Studies 1 and 2 (n = 280) showed that participants evaluated a hypothetical relationship, but not an existing relationship, more favorably when exposed to sweet taste compared to non-sweet taste control. Study 3 (n = 142) further showed that participants indicated greater interest in initiating a relationship with a potential partner when exposed to sweet taste, as compared to control participants. Implications for the role of sweet taste experiences in attraction and relationship initiation are discussed.