Glossary of Sensory Terms

Observation of consumers in natural environments to understand real-world behaviors.

A moderated discussion with 6–8 consumers to gather qualitative insights.

Methods exploring consumer motivations, perceptions, and attitudes.

Large-sample studies using scaled questions to produce statistically robust conclusions.

The ability to detect or discriminate sensory stimuli and a criterion often used to screen panelists.

A standardized scale, most commonly 9-point, used to measure liking or preference.

Characteristics of a product perceived through the senses, such as appearance, aroma, flavor, texture, and sound.

The scientific discipline that measures and interprets how people perceive products through the five senses.

A detailed description of a product's sensory attributes and their measured intensities.

A trained evaluator who observes and records sensory evaluations on behalf of a panelist, essentially acting as a proxy when the panelist cannot or should not self-evaluate.

Untrained individuals representing the target market.

Trained panelists who quantify sensory attributes.

Highly specialized evaluators with extensive sensory experience.

Panelists recruited from outside the organization.

Panelists recruited from within the organization.

Untrained participants providing responses based on personal perceptions.

A group of individuals selected to participate in sensory tests.

An individual who provides sensory responses during testing.

A consistent group used repeatedly for ongoing testing programs.

Panelists who have learned to identify, recognize, and quantify sensory attributes.

A statistical test used to compare means across multiple samples.

A technique that reduces data complexity and visualizes relationships among products.

A calculation estimating the number of panelists needed to detect meaningful differences.

A method relating sensory attribute data to consumer preference patterns.

Dividing consumers into groups based on similar behaviors or preferences.

A threshold (commonly p < 0.05) used to determine whether results are statistically meaningful.

The form or questionnaire used to collect sensory responses.

Evaluation where product identities are hidden to reduce bias.

A reference product used for comparison in sensory evaluations.

A design where participants evaluate only one product.

Presenting samples in varied order to reduce order bias.

Repeating evaluations to assess consistency and reliability.

A design where participants evaluate multiple products sequentially.

Consumer testing conducted in a controlled facility setting.

Consumer testing conducted in participants' homes under natural usage conditions.