A cross-cultural study of taste discrimination with Australians and Japanese

As part of a larger cross-cultural study of the chemoreceptiveabilities and preferences of Australians and Japanese, thisstudy investigated the differential taste sensitivity of subjectsfrom both cultures. The results indicate that there are no significantdifferences between the abilities of subjects from the two culturesto discriminate small increments (just noticeable differences)in the intensities of the four common tastants: sucrose, sodiumchloride, citric acid and caffeine. Furthermore, the Weber ratiosfound with each tastant were within the range of those reportedin the literature. These findings represent further evidencefor the view that differences in responses of subjects fromdifferent cultures to chemosensory stimuli are restricted topreference behaviour arising from experience rather than fromgenetically-based influences. ³Present address: Faculty of Science and Technology, Universityof Western Sydney, Bourke Street, Richmond, NSW 2753, Australia ⁴Present address: CSIRO Biometrics Unit, Institute of AnimalProduction and Processing, PO BOx 52 North Ryde NSW 2113, Australia