Psychology of Tasting and Eating

What we normally call “tasting” is an interplay of our sense of taste and sense of smell. These are obviously very important for eating, but actually we “taste” with all our senses. The strict distinction between the senses is a result of laboratory research in which investigators studied the isolated functioning of the senses. In real life, everything, especially food, is perceived with almost all the senses simultaneously. All these senses can influence each other, and this happens all the time. In addition, there are many psychological effects that play a significant role. Your knowledge about what you eat, your ideas about food, the information about the product, all play a role. You taste, as it were, everything that you have consciously, but certainly also unconsciously, ever associated with the food.