Magnitude Estimation vs Category Scaling of the Hedonic Quality of Food Sounds

Sixteen “bite and two chew” sounds were evaluated for hedonic quality by 52 subjects using both a magnitude estimation and a category scaling technique. Each subject then evaluated, by the same two scaling methods, the eight sounds they liked most and the eight sounds they liked least. The amount of shift in the subjects' scores produced by the changed sample set was the same for both scaling techniques. Both scaling techniques were also very similar in their reproducibility and variability. The function relating the magnitude estimation data to the category scaling data was linear as contrasted to curvilinear functions shown in other studies. This linearity may be related to the bipolar nature of the magnitude estimation scale.