I'm doing a science project and I just noticed that i overlooked a very big part of it. My project is on words affecting a person's sense of taste, and I've gotten research and replies from this forum already. I forgot to ask HOW. So, if anyone has any links to any site that tells you HOW, or anyone knows, I'd really appreciate it if you could share. Thank you.

I don't know how, I have seen no research on the subject. However, my guess would be that it probably has to do with priming and pre-attentive processing.

 

In essence, priming occurs as a result of exposure to stimuli on a non-conscious level. It drives our basic states (affective-motivational) and also directs our immediate beliefs and expectations. Foe example, if you are exposed to stimuli that leads you to believe you are about to get a cup of coffee, but you are given a cup of tea instead, the first mouthfull will confuse you, because it won't taste like coffee. However, the important thing is, that due to your expectations, it won't taste like tea either.

 

Your basic, non-conscious expectation was different to the reality and the result is confusion. When this happens, people often have to take a second mouthful to identify the taste.