The influence of auditory cues on the perception of, and responses to, food and drink

Does what we hear influence our perception of, and behaviors toward, food and drink? If so, what are the mechanism(s) underlying these cross-modal effects? While many people intuitively believe that our sense of hearing has little influence on our experiences of foodstuffs, the evidence that has been published to date suggests that this is not always the case. In this article, we review the growing body of empirical research demonstrating that what we hear can affect our perception of, and responses to, food and drink. We review both laboratory-based research and real-world (ecological) studies of the effects of music and other auditory stimuli on people's food-related behaviors. This research has revealed that what we hear (be it music, the sounds we make while eating, or even pure tones or bursts of white noise) can have a dramatic effect on our perceptions of food and drink. Auditory stimuli influence people's consumption rates, their preference ratings and their flavor assessments, and have even been shown to significantly impact on the overall amount that people consume. We highlight a number of explanations, including multisensory integration, attention, associative learning and expectations, that have all been put forward in order to account for these cross-modal effects. This manuscript examines the relationship between what people hear and their food and drink experiences, perceptions and behaviors. In previous research, auditory cues have been shown to influence people's purchasing decisions, flavor evaluations and their consumption rates of food and drink. The multisensory approach inherent to this line of research provides a means of enhancing culinary experiences for people in the years to come. In fact, some important practical interventions have already been made. For example, the Fat Duck restaurant in Bray, England serves a "sounds of the sea" seafood dish. Those who select this dish are presented with a plate of seafood that is reminiscent of a beach, with an iPod (hidden in a seashell with the earphones poking out) that plays a "sounds of the sea" soundtrack. Innovations such as these, based on a solid understanding of the cognitive psychology and neuroscience of multisensory integration, may increasingly help to heighten our enjoyment and experience of food and drink.