A COMPARISON OF CATEGORY AND LINE SCALES UNDER VARIOUS EXPERIMENTAL PROTOCOLS

Abstract

ABSTRACT Judges were required to rate the total intensity of NaCl solutions and the sweetness of orange flavored beverages using a variety of unstructured category and line scales. Discrimination errors were noted for each type of scale. No strong differences were observed in discrimination between category and line scales although a 20‐point category scale incurred fewer discrimination errors than 9‐point category and line scales. Allowing judges to retaste stimuli and review and modify their scores reduced discrimination errors.