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Running head: TASTE PREFERENCES BETWEEN ROOTBEERS

Taste Preferences Between Two Different Rootbeers

Brynnen Bailey-Lewis, Susan Anderson, Dario Caljkusic, and Whitney Brake

Lewis and Clark College

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Abstract

A taste test study was done to test the hypothesis that people at Lewis and Clark College would prefer A&W rootbeer over a new brand, Keiko, because of it's familiarity. A sample of 30 volunteers, made up of students and staff, were asked to taste the two brands, without knowledge of which brand they were tasting, and give their preference. The results reported there was not a great significance in their preference for either A&W or Keiko.

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Taste Preferences Between Two Different Rootbeers

Today, people are reading labels trying to discern whether a product is 'healthy' for them or not. Based on that fact and their own taste preferences, consumers tend to buy those products that have healthier ingredients. Possibly hoping they will become healthier individuals. Taste testing is used most commonly by food companies as a marketing technique to promote their product. These same companies will use the theme that their product is made with natural products and therefore is the better product. Now they also add that the taste is better, too.

Another theory is that consumers tend to stick with what is familiar to them. Because of consumers familiarity with certain products, they are less likely to switch or even try something new. Change is difficult, even when it comes to food or drink products. Do consumers, however, stick with their brand because it's 'the' brand to use? Or is it because they like the packaging? Is the taste really better? Or is it because the brand is tried and true?

This study was an attempt to find out whether people, particularly Lewis and Clark students, had a preference for one of two certain types of rootbeer, A&W or Keiko. Our experiment is based on the Coca Cola taste test experiment done by Frederick Thumin (1962).

A&W, being the more familiar brand, was chosen in our hypothesis as the rootbeer people would prefer.

Method

Participants

Thirty participants were recruited, on a voluntary basis, to participate in the experiment. All subjects were opportunistically chosen as they walked into the middle section of Templeton College Center and passed the Lewis and Clark College bookstore. They were given written instructions to read and an informed consent form to sign (see Appendix A.).

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Materials

The experiment materials consisted of 2 six packs of rootbeer, one was A&W and the other was Keiko. These were kept in paper sacks under the table used for conducting the experiment. A pitcher of tap water, as well as two stacks of waxed, paper cups were used as well. All the cups were marked on the bottom with either a X or a X ahead of time for identification.

Procedure

Participants were first asked if they would like to participate in a taste test experiment being conducted by Psychology Methodology students. They were then asked to read and sign an informed consent form. After agreeing, participants were shown the written instructions of what they were supposed to do before drinking from the cups. The instructions were as follows:

We are conducting a rootbeer evaluation. We will place three cups in front

of you, two cups will have rootbeer and one will have water to rinse the taste

from your mouth between drinks. Please choose the cup to your left first,

wash your mouth with water and drink from the cup on your right. After

taking your drinks, let us know your preference.

The rootbeer was refrigerated prior to the experiment so there was no problem of it being warm and affecting the taste. Cups of water were poured and all three cups (two of rootbeer) were placed in front of the volunteer. The Latin Square method was used to alternate the presentation of the rootbeer. The water cup was placed in between. Subjects started with the left cup, took a drink of rootbeer, took a drink of water to rinse their mouth and then tasted the second rootbeer cup.

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Because the double blind procedure was used, the experimenter who labeled the bottom of the cups with X and a X was not the person who took the results from the volunteers. The volunteer verbally gave his or her preference to the experimenter recording the results.

Results

The One Way Chi Squared was used to identify the statistical preference for both rootbeers. The findings were not significant and the experiment failed to reject the H0, x2(1,N=30) = .58, p > .05. Of the 30 participants, 17 preferred A&W and 13 preferred Keiko.

Discussion

Regardless of how familiar a population is with a certain brand name of how long it has been in existence, that is not a good reason to assume it as the preferential choice. A lot of subjects tried to guess what brand they were drinking, and although we, as the experimenters, were unable to taste a difference when we tasted the products, many volunteers were able to identify the rootbeer, not unlike the Cola Taste Test (Thumin 1962).

One way confusion for the experimenters could have been eliminated would have been to have the three cups of liquid (2 rootbeer, 1 water) ready before the volunteers got to the table, rather than as the volunteers were being asked to sign the consent form. Another suggestion would be, have a small refrigerator on hand to keep the rootbeer chilled. Thirdly, in able to keep the experiment running smoothly, have more than enough cups. This was a problem we experienced, we forgot to plan for water cups.

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References

American Psychological Association. (1994). Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association. Washington D.C.

Thumin, Frederick J. (1962). Identification of Cola Beverages. Journal of Applied Psychology, 46 (5), 358-360. American Psychological Association.