884 JOURNAL OF THE SOCIETY OF COSMETIC CHEMISTS Figure 2. SENSES SENSDRY REACTIDNS PERCEPTIDN Pg¾½#OgENgOR¾ CONCLUSIONS Pathway to psychosensory conclusions vision - smell - taste - feel - sound PRODUCT PROCESS RESULT PERCEPTION 1 CONSUMER R•ACTION Figure 3. Pathways to consumer reactions premature practical evaluations of products, by expendins the technical product devdopment effort vital to the sound completion of the program, and by accepting the science of psychology as part of the product devdopment challenge. APPLICATION OF SENSORY EVALUATIONS TO PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT In Fig. 2, the classic scientific pathway to psychosensory conclusions is shown. For the purpose of this paper, these conclusions are based on objective, conscious observations and experiences generated by sensory reactions in human subjects. In contrast with Fig. 2, Fig. 3 moves into the world of the consumer. The major pathways to consumer reactions based on the external senses are shown. These reactions are conscious and subconscious in nature. They stem from exposure to the product as an entity, the process or mode of use, and the result. They lead to consumer conclusions of satisfaction, dissatisfaction, or indifference. From a sensory evaluation standpoint, the scientist should be in the position of personally experiencing, observing, and reporting the sensations generated by his product and his psychosensory conclusions. He should be in this position prior to his delegation of evaluation re- sponsibility to nonscientific evaluators. He should not be carried away by his enthusiasm for the technical excellence of what he has produced. He should not hope that the evaluators will overlook those

PSYCHOSENSORV REACTIONS AND PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT 885 few "minor" undisclosed problems dealing with appearance, odor, feel, and the like. Rather, he should face the challenge of using his scientific skills to eliminate all properties that may give rise to negative sensory impressions and most important, consciously research into products' novel properties that have a high degree of sensory appeal. Underlying what is being proposed is the basic, prejudiced convic- tion that the scientists should be more perceptive and better observers than the average consumer. The scientist's psychosensory product con- clusions, if based on well-designed laboratory and clinical experiments for which he is responsible, should anticipate most consumer reactions and should reduce the time problem associated with the development- evaluation cycle. Now, what is an orderly approach to sensory evaluation? Let us use the sensory pathways of the consumer that lead to perception and consumer reactions. Let us design experiments that will put the scientist in the position of subjectively and objectively experiencing, observing, and reporting the sensations--good and bad--generated by his product. Let the scientist reach his psychosensory conclusions by applying in an orderly way each of his senses to the product, the process, and the result. To illustrate further, consider three imaginary shampoo products. Shampoos are a good selection because this is an old and well-estab- lished product category. Of course, psychosensory evaluation ap- proaches will vary somewhat depending on the type of product involved. Semantics, too, will vary with the observer. Note also that the obser- vations that follow are illustrative but are not intended to be complete. "Me-Too" Shampoo A "Me-too" product represents a product type that is common in the marketplace. The basic product development challenge, if such it be, is duplication. There is no novelty involved, there is no opportunity for an exciting consumer reaction. Nevertheless, some will argue that if this product is put in a good package, if it is heavily advertised and promoted, it might be a great commercial success. Only rarely does such a miracle happen. The common experience with a "Me-too" item is commercial failure. The attributes with which the "Me-too" product has been endowed will sound very familiar. They are set forth in Table I. Considering first the sense of vision, it well be noted that this product is a viscous, amber, transparent liquid in a glass bottle. Under process,