Neurophysiological Responses to Different Product Experiences

It is well known that the evaluation of a product from the shelf considers the simultaneous cerebral and emotional evaluation ofthe different qualities of the product such as its colour, the eventual images shown, and the envelope’s texture (hereafter allincluded in the term “product experience”). However, the measurement of cerebral and emotional reactions during the interactionwith food products has not been investigated in depth in specialized literature. (e aim of this paper was to investigatesuch reactions by the EEG and the autonomic activities, as elicited by the cross-sensory interaction (sight and touch) across severaldifferent products. In addition, we investigated whether (i) the brand (Major Brand or Private Label), (ii) the familiarity (Foreignor Local Brand), and (iii) the hedonic value of products (Comfort Food or Daily Food) influenced the reaction of a group ofvolunteers during their interaction with the products. Results showed statistically significantly higher tendency of cerebralapproach (as indexed by EEG frontal alpha asymmetry) in response to comfort food during the visual exploration and the visualand tactile exploration phases. Furthermore, for the same index, a higher tendency of approach has been found toward foreignfood products in comparison with local food products during the visual and tactile exploration phase. Finally, the samecomparison performed on a different index (EEG frontal theta) showed higher mental effort during the interaction with foreignproducts during the visual exploration and the visual and tactile exploration phases. Results from the present study could deepenthe knowledge on the neurophysiological response to food products characterized by different nature in terms of hedonic valuefamiliarity; moreover, they could have implications for food marketers and finally lead to further study on how people make foodchoices through the interactions with their commercial envelope.