To encourage better choices, emphasize immediate, tangible rewards over long-term, abstract goals. A Stanford study found diners chose more vegetables when labeled with delicious descriptions ("sizzling Szechuan green beans") versus health-focused ones ("nutritious green beans"). This works with the brain's value system, which prioritizes immediate gratification.

Shopping decisions are often a battle between brain systems. The primal limbic system, governing emotion, reacts instantly to sensory cues like a sugary display. This happens long before the rational cerebral cortex can process thoughts like 'budget' or 'health,' explaining why willpower often fails against our own biology in the aisles.

Product 'taste' is often narrowly defined as aesthetics. A better analogy is a restaurant: great food (visuals) is necessary but not sufficient. Taste encompasses the entire end-to-end user journey, from being greeted at the door to paying the check. Every interaction must feel crafted and delightful.

Dylan Field defines taste not as an innate gift but as a point of view developed through a repeatable process. It involves experiencing something, asking "why do I like or dislike this?", and understanding the canon that led to its creation. This allows you to build a framework for judgment.

Scientific literature suggests humans have between 22 and 33+ physiological senses, including balance, proprioception, and awareness of internal states like bladder fullness. This reframes human potential, suggesting we are capable of perceiving far more than we commonly acknowledge.

Human vision has two modes: sharp central focus (foveal) for details like text, and wide peripheral vision that scans for general signals like shape, color, and movement. Since peripheral vision detects things first but cannot read, visual marketing must grab attention with imagery before communicating details with text.

Foods like stinky tofu or durian can taste delicious despite smelling awful because chewing releases different volatile compounds than simply sniffing does. This changes the flavor-scent profile once in the mouth, creating a disconnect between the initial external aroma and the final internal taste experience.

In a study, a faint chocolate smell was pumped into a store. While none of the 105 shoppers interviewed afterward consciously noticed the scent, the featured chocolate brand's share jumped by 41%. This demonstrates that subconscious sensory cues can bypass rational thought and directly influence purchasing decisions.

By introducing a third, strategically priced but less appealing option (the "decoy"), you can manipulate how customers perceive value. A medium popcorn priced close to the large makes the large seem like a much better deal. This proves that value is relative and can be shaped by deliberate choice architecture.