Virtual reality (VR) technology has gained significant attention in various fields, including education for health professionals, sensory science, psychology, and consumer research. The first aim of the paper is to explore the self-assessed experience of emotional involvement in sensory analysis performed in VR. The Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) is a widely used self-report measure that assesses positive and negative affective states. VR sensory analysis involves the use of immersive, interactive, and multi-sensory environments to evaluate sensory perception and emotional responses. By synthesizing relevant literature, this paper provides insights into the impact of VR on affective states, the effectiveness of VR in eliciting emotions, and the potential applications of the PANAS in VR sensory analysis. Furthermore, the second aim of the paper is to uncover the effect of VR sensory evaluation on the participant’s emotional states, as it has a significant effect on their evaluations. The results suggest an increase in the sum of positive effects and a decrease in the negative ones. Although these results are promising, the relationship between the PANAS and VR sensory analysis is still underexplored, with limited research investigating the specific effects of VR on affective states measured using the PANAS. Further research is needed to better understand the potential of the PANAS in assessing emotional responses in VR environments and its implications for sensory analysis.

Playing ethnic music in restaurants increases consumer experience. Studies show, furthermore, that ethnic congruence of music and food affects food selection but not the liking of customers. An eye-tracking study was completed with 104 participants to uncover if there is an effect of ethnic music on selecting ethnic foods. German, Hungarian, Italian, and Spanish ethnic music was played while participants choose congruent starters, main dishes, and desserts. Results show that visual attention decreased when any background music was played. However, when played, the highest visual attention was recorded during Spanish music. Similarly, the most visual attention was recorded on Spanish dishes. Food choice frequencies showed no differences among the four nations. However, after aggregating German-Hungarian and Italian-Spanish music and dishes, it turned out that participants chose congruent music and food. Choice predictions were also completed on data with and without ethnic music. The performance of prediction models significantly increased when music was played. These findings highlight a clear link between music and food choices, and that music helped participants complete their choices and decide faster.

Using eye-tracking technology, the proposed study investigates how customers visually evaluate apples varieties and apple defects and how these evaluations affect their purchasing decisions. Three aspects were examined in this study: apple variety, defect severity, and cultural background. Idared, Golden Delicious Yellow, and Golden Delicious Green apple varieties with increasing degrees of bruising were shown to Chinese and Hungarian participants. The findings show that apple variety had no significant effect on gaze patterns, whereas cultural background had a considerable impact on visual attention measures. The most important element in grabbing and retaining customer attention was the severity of the defect, which was measured by area. The “Threshold of Rejection”, which characterizes consumer tolerance for Apple defects, is introduced in the study. Furthermore, a polynomial regression model was created to predict the probability of repurchasing an apple depending on its visual quality (level of bruising). These results provide useful information for marketing plans, quality assurance, and comprehending customer behavior in the fresh produce sector.