Desenvolvimento de um sistema de mapeamento projetivo digital para a avaliação da perceção dos consumidores em produtos inovadores

Abstract

The understanding of the individual cognitive style has been gaining ground as one of the hot topics in sensory analysis. Although the application of measurement methods is still limited in this area, understanding the thinking strategy of a panel is fundamental to differentiate the participants and to understand how different ways of thinking lead to strategic differences in product evaluation. Initially, the development of a projective mapping data collection system with a higher sensitivity was planned, however, as the internship period progressed, the final technological solution could not be guaranteed, therefore, this work focused essentially on the evaluation of the impact of the consumers' cognitive style when applying a projective mapping methodology. To this end, the Cognitive Style Index was translated and validated, which measures an individual's cognitive style by adding up the scores obtained in responses to 38 statements. Depending on the value, the participant would be placed as intuitive, quasi-intuitive, adaptive, quasi-analytical and analytical. The cognitive style of each participant was cross-referenced with the projective mapping data, followed by the application of ultra flash profiling, performed with a set of mayonnaise samples. For each cognitive style group, a Multiple Factor Analysis (MFA) was performed to understand the sample-attribute association. In general, consumers with a more analytical tendency discriminate more between samples when compared to consumers with a more intuitive style. In terms of characterisation, the analytic and adaptive groups have a higher number of attributes, thus reinforcing their ability to analyse the products more thoroughly.

Date of Award	12 Sept 2023
Original language	Portuguese
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Célia Ferreira da Rocha (Supervisor)