This dish smells creamy, I’ll like it, I’ll buy it – an examination of smell-texture correspondences and implications on liking, emotional responses and behavioral intentions

It is acknowledged that sensory stimuli are not processed isolated, but rather, manifold nonarbitrary associations (i.e., crossmodal correspondences) between sensory modalities may occur. While certain types of crossmodal correspondences have received quite some research attention in recent years, smell-texture correspondences have not been in the scientific focus yet. Building thereupon, the present paper examines correspondences between smell and texture, as well as their implications for emotional and behavioral responses on the basis of a sweet dessert product. We find significant evidence of smell-texture correspondences for certain texture attributes; moreover, significant impact of smell on emotional responses, liking and purchase intentions.