For my taste test, I looked at 4 different varieties of apples: McIntosh, Granny Smith, Gala, and Red Delicious. For each variety, I noted the texture, taste, color, and the cognitive emotions I associate with the type of apple. I assigned each apple a score from 1-5 for each of the criteria, with 5 signifying that the apple shows strong signs of that trait, and a 1 being no signs of that trait at all. For the cognitive/emotional criteria, I used 5 to imply a positive emotional connection, and 1 implying a negative emotional association.
After scoring each apple, I drew up a tree diagram (like a tournament bracket) to figure out which apples were my favorite and least favorite. It turns out the Gala Apple is the best. Unfortunately, I live in Cabot and the only dining halls with Gala apples are Elliot and Kirkland! What a shame.
After completing the Apple pairings, I wanted to see if I could accomplish the same analysis on lettuce. I went to different dining halls on campus and tried 4 different varieties of lettuce: fressee, romaine, iceberg, and radicchio. Because lettuce has different characteristics than apples, I made up new criteria such as “rough”, “waxy”, and “crispy.”
Like the apples, I drew a tree diagram and compared the different types of lettuce to each other. In the end, I decided that romaine tastes the best. Not surprisingly, romaine has the highest score for cognitive/emotional association. Do I like romaine because I associate it with positive memories, or do I associate it with positive memories because I like it so much?
