The way of viewing ecological validity and its potential effects on consumer judgment has direct methodological implications. In the field of sensory and consumer sciences, studies interested in the validity of contextualized experiments are divided into two categories: those which address the question of ecological validity as a whole (the experimental context is made up of a combination of the environment and the task being performed and, try to keep most of them as close to natural as possible) and those that focus on specific factors that impact the measurements and try to make them more valid ecologically. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why violent video games should not be banned”? Get an original essay Studies following a global approach compare scores on food liking and choices in different natural environments (restaurants, canteens, prisons) with those obtained in the laboratory or central location parameters showing the differences in hedonic scores. These differences are generally linked to the degree of discrimination between products – consumers being more discriminating in a natural environment than in a laboratory – or to higher scores obtained in a natural environment than in a laboratory. On the other hand, studies focusing on contextual variables compare how adding contextual variables in controlled experiments can affect food taste and choice. We can first notice that several classifications of contextual variables have been proposed: Rozin & Tuorila (1993) divide contextual variables into product variables and non-product variables and subdivide them into simultaneous and temporal contextual factors; Meiselman (1996) suggests distinguishing three categories of variables (the situation, the individual and the product); while Stroebele and De Castro (2004) divide the contextual variables into social context variables, physical environment, time-related characteristics and distraction and/or television viewing. From these studies, it is difficult to completely disentangle the different factors and isolate a specific context effect. The relevance of these contextual variables therefore remains unclear. To date, the lack of knowledge of the combined effects of these contextual variables on consumer responses compromises the ability to identify causal relationships through experimental approaches. In practice, this has the consequence that test participants may not perceive the study context in which they find themselves. as the researcher assumes. This calls into question the ecological validity as defined by Brofenbrenner. Keep in mind: this is just a sample. Get a personalized article from our expert writers now. Get a custom essay The problem seen as a whole would naturally lead to overall changes in the test design, while splitting the context into separate variables would make targeted improvements to the experimental setup, keeping the rest of the task and environment potentially non-ecological.