Mind & behavior · 2008
Can the same wine taste more pleasant if you’re told it costs more?
Yes—in this experiment, participants reported enjoying a wine’s flavor more when they believed its price was higher. They tasted wine while their brains were scanned, and the price information did not reflect genuinely different wines. The abstract does not report how large the effect was.
Details
Researchers tested whether price information could change the pleasure people experienced while tasting wine. Participants were led to believe they were tasting different wines sold at different prices, contrary to reality.
Higher stated prices increased both reported flavor pleasantness and a brain signal based on blood oxygen levels. The signal increased in a region widely thought to represent experienced pleasure. Together, these results support the idea that price information can influence reported enjoyment and brain responses associated with it.
This does not show that genuinely more expensive wines taste better. The brain finding also depends on how that region’s role is interpreted; it is not a direct reading of pleasure. The abstract gives neither participant numbers nor effect sizes, so it does not establish how large or broadly applicable the effect is.
What do you think?
Good conversations begin with curiosity.
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