The Bitter Taste of Confidence: Exploring Audio-Visual Taste Modulation in Immersive Reality
Ghavamian, Pooria and Beyer, Jan Henri and Orth, Sophie and Zech, Mia Johanna Nona and Müller, Florian and Matviienko, Andrii
Abstract: Extended Reality (XR) technologies present innovative ways to augment sensory experiences, including taste perception. In this study, we investigated how augmented reality (AR) visual filters and synchronized audio cues affect gustation through a controlled experiment with 18 participants. Our findings revealed unexpected crossmodal interactions: while pink visual filter typically associated with sweetness reduced perceived bitterness in isolation, it paradoxically enhanced bitterness perception when combined with sweet-associated audio cue. Furthermore, we observed an inverse correlation between participant confidence levels and their perception of taste intensities across multiple dimensions, highlighting confidence as an overlooked factor in sensory experience design. These findings inform the design of nuanced multisensory experiences in immersive media, where subtle crossmodal interactions significantly influence user perception.
@inproceedings{ghavamianBitterTasteConfidence2025,title={The {{Bitter Taste}} of {{Confidence}}: {{Exploring Audio-Visual Taste Modulation}} in {{Immersive Reality}}},shorttitle={The {{Bitter Taste}} of {{Confidence}}},booktitle={Proceedings of the 2025 {{ACM International Conference}} on {{Interactive Media Experiences}}},author={Ghavamian, Pooria and Beyer, Jan Henri and Orth, Sophie and Zech, Mia Johanna Nona and M{\"u}ller, Florian and Matviienko, Andrii},year={2025},month=may,series={{{IMX}} '25},pages={462--467},publisher={Association for Computing Machinery},address={New York, NY, USA},doi={10.1145/3706370.3731654},urldate={2025-07-28},isbn={979-8-4007-1391-0},}
