Recent research results suggest that the taste of the foods people eat and drink can be influenced by the utensils and dinnerware that are presented to consume it. For example, Harrar and Spence (2013) found that yogurt tasted heavier and more expensive when consumed with a lightweight plastic spoon as compared to a weighted spoon. The study also found that food tasted saltier when consumed with a knife as compared to a spoon or a fork. In a similar study, Piqueras-Fiszman and Spence (2012) asked participants to judge hot chocolate that was served in plastic cups in four different colors: red, orange, cream, and white. The results indicated that hot chocolate tastes better in a cream or orange cup than it does in a red or white one. Although you may find it surprising that one sensory experience (taste) can be changed by a completely different sensory experience (color or weight), here, we focus on the variables that the researchers are studying. Some of these variables are objective, concrete, and well defined. The weight of a spoon or the color of a plastic cup are easy to define and easy to measure. On the other hand, a variable such as taste is not so easily defined and measured. To find out whether there are differences in taste, however, you must first determine exactly what is meant by taste and then decide how it will be measured. In the behavioral sciences, researchers are often interested in studying variables such as guilt, anxiety, intelligence, or taste. However, these are all abstract variables and, thus, cannot be directly observed and measured. This chapter considers the procedures used by behavioral scientists to define and measure the variables that they study. The chapter pays special attention to variables such as pride and shame, which exist as abstract ideas. To make these variables compatible with scientific research, researchers must define them in concrete terms so that they can be observed and measured in an empirical research study. (Source, Karrac V. & Spence, C. ( . of cutlery, How the tests of food is affected by the wright. sire. shape, an hour of the cutlery used to eat it. Flavour, 2(21). Retrieved from http://flav content2/1/21. Piqueray Farman, B., & Spence, C. (2012). The influence of the color of the cup on sumers' perception of a hot beverage. Journal of Sensory Studies, 27, 324. doi:10.1131/9:1745-459%.2012.00957.) One of the major learning objectives of this chapter is to understand the usefulness of operational definitions. In the behavioral sciences, abstract variables, such as depressed mood and self-esteem, are often measured using an operational definition. An operational definition involves identifying an observable and measurable response that represents the abstract variable. For example, a researcher could measure self esteem by giving participants a questionnaire with questions related to self-image. The scores on the questionnaire can then be used as a measure of self-esteem What variables did Harrar and Spence (2013) study? Check all that apply. The expensiveness of food The heaviness of food The saltiness of food Is a person's perception of the "saltiness of food" an abstract variable? No O'Yes What variables did Piqueras Fiszman and Spence (2012) study? How good hot chocolate tasted How good yogurt tasted What variables did Piqueras-Fiszman and Spence (2012) study? How good hot chocolate tasted How good yogurt tasted What are ways to operationally define how "good" something tastes? Check all that apply. Measure how much of that something is consumed by the participant. Measure a participant's rating on a scale of 1 to 10 for how good that something tastes