The effect of food shape on children’s implicit and explicit emotional response

The appearance of food products is one of the most important aspects that determine food preferences and food choices in children. One of the approaches suggested to prevent children’s rejection of food products is controlling the visual appearance attributes to enhance acceptability and a more positive emotional response. In this regard, the main objective of this study was to determine the influence of food shapes on the holistic emotional response of schoolchildren. A group of 50 children (5–12 years old) took part in individual sessions to observe and to consume two food products designed from apple juice to have the same sensory properties, except the shape (i.e., triangle vs. apple). To measure the emotional response holistically, an emoji-based questionnaire was used to capture children’s self-reported emotions, while facial expressions and the skin conductance response (SCR) were monitored to represent the behavioural and physiological responses. Results showed that there were no significant differences in acceptability when data were analysed on average, but 31% of the children were influenced by the food shape, the apple shape was more accepted than the triangle shape. On the other hand, the holistic emotional response elicited by both food products were significantly different. In this regard, the apple shape evoked a more positive emotional response compared to the triangle shape. The study of children’s preferences and emotional response towards food shapes may help the food industry and other researchers to develop new food products from a child-centric perspective, enhancing acceptability and a more positive emotional response in schoolchildren.