Tasting the unexpected: disconfirmation of expectations leads to lower perceived food value in an invertebrate.

ABSTRACT: To make sensible decisions, both humans and other animals must compare the available options against a reference point-either other options or previous experience. Options of higher quality than the reference are considered good value. However, many perceptible attributes of options are value-neutral, such as flower scent. Nonetheless, such value-neutral differences may be part of an expectation. Can a mismatch between the expectation and experience of value-neutral attributes affect perceived value? Consumer psychology theory and results suggest it can. To test this in a non-human animal, we manipulated a value-neutral aspect of a food source-its taste-while keeping its absolute value-its sweetness-the same. Individual ants (Lasius niger) were allowed to drink either lemon- or rose

SUBMITTER: Oberhauser FB 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6170749 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature