Adaptation and cross-adaptation of the four gustatory qualities

On the basis of magnitude estimations of solutions of NaCl, quinine sulfate, sucrose, and HCl, a seven-step series of each compound was chosen. The concentration of each compound in the same ordinal position of the series was of approximately the same sensory magnitude. The middle concentration of each series was presented as an adapting stimulus, and the entire series was used to test the effects of 2 min of adaptation on magnitude estimations and quality reports. Both NaCl and sucrose adaptation markedly lowered magnitude estimations of test stimuli of the same compounds for concentrations lower than that of the adapting stimulus, but had little effect on higher concentrations. Cross-adaptation generally enhanced the magnitude estimations over those obtained in initial estimations. Neither adaptation nor cross-adaptation procedures produced quality changes.