CONSUMER RESEARCH ON NEW PRODUCTS 475 while a few may complain, they do so benevolently. At any rate, in war- time stringencies, there is no place for panel testing. One simply does one's best and there it is. In peacetimes it may be desirable, however, to reformulate as a simple piece of economics. Here the problem is interesting because it is almost certain that the change will lead to alterations in the properties of the product. Even a modification of the perfume compound may lead to a change in the theological properties which could have an effect on popular acceptance. Experience shows, time and time again, that a change in odor note can influence, in no small measure, the apparent effectiveness or otherwise of the product in the eyes of the consumer. If one perfume is preferred to the other, then in those preferences will be found a significant percentage who claim that the product with the preferred odor was more effective in doing its job. This sort of answer is in alignment with a psychological reaction and the over-all goodness will be interpreted by each individual in a manner con- sistent with his or her innate scale of preferences. This important point is fully discussed in a most interesting paper by A. Kennedy (Pharm. •., January, 1959, Vol. 182, 5) entitled "The Psychology of Clinical Trials." In fact, play on this individual order of desirables had led to newspaper competitions where features of certain commodities, as for example, motor cars, were listed and the competitors invited to place them in an order of desirability. The successful person to gain the prize--which was of signifi- cant value--was the one whose list conformed most closely to the order of preferences produced by a statistical calculation based on all the forms sent in. It has been said that one famous motor car firm spent an enormous sum of money on a consumer research of this type and the new model launched on the basis of this assessment proved to be an absolute failure! But this result is not to be unforeseen. Many of the contestants will look on the exercise as a challenge to their cleverness and will try to picture what others are likely to think, rather than to register their own views, especially as each item was not without merit. Even a change of color can affect the issue. Often in a product which is colored, a consumer will complain that the quality of the recent purchase was different and will then declare that its effectiveness in use was quite in- ferior to previous supplies, even though examination of the returned prod- uct proved that the contents, other than the color, were up to standard in all aspects. Much more difficult is to attempt to make a product which is to be com- petitive with an existing one. If it were to be an exact copy--which heaven forbid--then market testing would demand identity of appearance, texture, odor and pack. To do this, it is necessary to buy a supply of the product on the market and to repackage it in a plain standard container. Apart from

476 JOURNAL OF THE SOCIETY OF 'COSMETIC CHEMISTS uncertainty of age, the rehandling of the preparation may bring about changes which could affect its properties in use and this could affect its consumer acceptance so that the findings of the research had an unsuspected bias. As everyone knows, matching a perfume compound is an almost impossi- ble task and it must, unless faced up to, seriously vitiate the test. Such a problem does not, of course, apply if the "match" is one of the same firm's products. Thus, for any internal testing to decide if one formula is better than another, it is imperative that as far as possible, all the outward prop- erties are similar, so that the members of the panel are simply asked to judge performance in unspecified array. On the matter of judging this, because of well-recognized uncertainty, the triangle test has been employed. Here, three specimens are given, the tester being informed that two are identical and one different. With a trained panel this test has great value but when placed before a cross- sectional panel many of the individuals feel under a stress similar to an examination and their nervous reactions are more than likely to become randomized. Often, in their desire to help, they may become ultrame- ticulous and, noting extremely small variations, many of which may be independent of quality, give wrong answers. One aspect of investigating "likes and dislikes" needs to be emphasized. Toilet and cosmetic products are essentially for daily use and what may have a strong appeal as a change from the usual, may easily engender a most favorable reaction. Even a novel form of presentation of the same product may easily weigh the balance in its favor. Experience has amply shown, in the case of tooth paste and shampoos among other things, that all too often in the launching, the product fulfills the indication of the panel test but soon, too soon, the novelty wears off and sales decline to uneconomical levels. What is it that really lies at the basis of all these difficulties ? It is some- thing affecting the psychological reaction of the individual when he or she is faced with a problem which is not precisely defined. There is always the impact or fear of the unknown and the atmosphere is conducive either to the giving of wrong answers, many of them wrong because the individuals are so prone to attempt to make a reason for what they think might occur and by this very fact claim to find results which do not even exist! This is most frequently found with those of a slightly higher intelligence quotient than average. What the panel is in need of is information: it is this which lies at the foundation of all modern marketing. The ordinary panel testing approach is too academic to have reality. This is because it is based on the assump- tion that permeates many sociological systems, as for example, that de- mocracy implies complete freedom of will, but forgetting that an untutored