Perceptual and Preferential Discrimination Abilities in Taste Tests

We investigated the relation between perceptual and preferential discriminative ability in taste tests, using a convergence of methods to construct measures of ability. A sample of 175 respondents participated in a taste test of tomatoes. The sample included graduate students, university staff members, high school teachers, and army trainees. Results indicate (a) that perceptual and preferential discriminative abilities are related but they do not precondition each other; (b) that only 16% of the respondents were good discriminators in both perception and preference, 24% were perceptual discriminators, and 42% were preferential discriminators; and (c) that discriminators and nondiscriminators exhibit different preferences.