THE PROMISE AND THE PRODUCT 5O5 this is irrelevant if the effect is right--a new research programme is needed on the mechanism! Here we look to see that the effect is maintained under conditions of expected variability, whether these be biological variation in hair and teeth or human variation in quantities or efficiency of use. Typically this is the clinical test stage, the salon trial, the sweat room. It should not be expected that average effects are anything like as dramatic as observed in the more controlled earlier stages, but they should be maintained under these conditions of variability. In more subjective fields where physical functionality is less dominant, the consumer panel is of course mandatory, because here we are asking the user to be the measuring instrument, not the expert clinician, hairdresser or physiologist. These three stages of evaluation may call for different techniques despite the fact that the property being judged is the same. Thus the property of colouring hair may initially be judged on small switches on watch glasses cooked for a long time, in later stages on bigger switches treated with realistic liquor ratios and times and, finally, in the salon. In other instances the same instrument could in fact be used at all three stages, but might well be judged and reported in different ways. The final stage lies outside the scope of this paper and is the test market situation where different rules apply. We want to call attention to the attri- butes with cues supporting the effect we know to be there, so that the product not only has the right to live in the market but will live. NON-FUNCTIONAL PROPERTIES The scientist must be alive to the danger of underestimating the immense importance of the so-called non-functional properties. These contribute very significantly to the attribute profile, yet provide a source of great difficulty because they are so idiosyncratic. I speak of: Perfume and flavour (these can also be a functional activity). Pack (aesthetic properties). Price. Convenience (or rather 'lack of inconvenience'--convenience can be functional). Availability. Keepability (on the edge of functional performance). For many products there is a minimum functionality which admits the product to its 'class' and thereafter choice--and satisfaction--is based on

5O6 JOURNAL OF THE SOCIETY OF COSMETIC CHEMISTS emotions. And quite rightly. Functional appraisal in physical terms can be reduced ad absurdurn by considering paintings in terms of cost of raw materials and square metres of wall covered. To give psychological and emotional satisfaction to consumers who seek it, is a worthy goal. We must always be on our guard that we do not join the pseudo-scientist who always finds the unperfumed bulk talc in a paper bag the 'best buy'. The public knows better and I believe we do too. There is however a new frontier for Evaluation Science in the interaction region between the emotional responses and the cold physical measure•nents-- the region of psychophysics into which we are gingerly reaching. In indus- trial research we cannot however deal individually with idiosyncratic interactions, but must tackle them on the basis of population segments. We seek to link the overall consumer satisfaction with a product with the combination of physical and psychological satisfaction. For years the existence of these interactions has been known in its cruder forms to every manufacturer of consumer goods. The amount of time and money spent deciding on the 'right' perfume for a product, the new sophisti- cation of preference tests done in a marketing ambience, complete with brand advertising support, the test markets, the house-to-house testing done on a pack design to see if it reinforces the product image or conflicts with it. Such investigations are indeed necessary when judged from a commercial point of view. The 'wrong' perfume or pack can quickly strangle, even at birth, a product otherwise acceptable in physical performance terms. But there is more to it than this. There can be a synergy between emotional properties and physical properties which is much more than an avoidance of sales negatives. There can be a real contribution to increased emotional satisfaction, which is an attribute of our products so frequently under- estimated. It should never be forgotten that a large part of our industry, and indeed many others, rests in providing this emotional satisfaction to people who seek this as earnestly and seriously as they do satisfaction of physical needs. What are the Arts, Literature, Music and the whole entertainment industry, including TV, but purveyors of emotional satisfaction? Do we measure a Beethoven string quartet by decibels as inferior to Rock Around the Clock ? It is vital that we never forget this aspect. The satisfaction of emotional n•eds is a valid and honourable part of our business and well understood by our perfumers and cosmetic houses. The interaction between emotional and physical satisfaction is much less well understood and needs new com- binations of skills, notably semantics.