Does music that brings sweetness to mind make food taste sweeter?

Details

Music might influence food perception because it brings a taste to mind, or because of its emotional tone. These explanations are difficult to separate because music’s taste associations and emotional qualities often overlap.

The researchers conducted two experiments in which participants tasted cucumber, croissant, banana, and chocolate—foods differing in sugar content—while listening to soundtracks. Participants rated sweetness, liking, how positive the food felt, and their likelihood of eating it in the future.

In the experiment comparing stronger versus weaker musical associations with sweetness, the stronger-association soundtrack significantly increased ratings across all these measures. In the separate experiment comparing more positive- with less positive-sounding music while controlling sweetness associations, none of those ratings showed a clear difference. That negative result does not establish that emotional tone can never affect food perception.

The findings support the idea that music’s associations with taste can contribute to the eating experience. The abstract does not report participant numbers or effect sizes, so it leaves uncertainty about how large or broadly applicable the effect is. Future eating was rated, not observed, and healthier eating was discussed as a possible application rather than demonstrated.