People generally associate curved and symmetrical shapes with sweetness, while associating angular and asymmetrical shapes with the other basic tastes (e.g., sour, bitter). However, these group-level taste-shape correspondences likely conceal important variation at an individual-level. We examined the extent to which individuals vary in their sensitivity to crossmodal correspondence between curvature and symmetry, on the one hand, and the five basic taste qualities (sweet, bitter, salty, sour, and umami), on the other. In Experiment 1, participants matched shapes (curved vs. angular, symmetrical vs. asymmetrical) and taste words. In Experiment 2, participants performed a similar task, though this time using actual tastants. Given that people differ in their hedonic experience of such shapes and tastes, we also measured participants’ liking for each taste and shape separately. The results replicate the general crossmodal correspondences between curved-sweet and symmetrical-sweet stimuli. Furthermore, participants tended to match sour and bitter tastes with angular and asymmetrical stimuli. However, these group-level taste-shape correspondences coexist alongside substantial variation at the level of the individual. While some participants consistently matched specific tastes with curved and symmetrical stimuli, others consistently matched these tastes with angular and asymmetrical stimuli, or else did not show these taste-shape correspondences. Liking for curved and symmetrical stimuli was higher than for angular and asymmetrical stimuli. However, participants also differed considerably in the extent to which these visual features affected their liking. Overall, our findings highlight the substantial individual differences that are associated with the degree to which people associate and like shapes and tastes.

中文翻译：

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对味道-形状跨模式对应的敏感性的个体差异

人们通常将弯曲和对称的形状与甜味联系起来，而将有棱角和不对称的形状与其他基本味道（例如酸、苦）联系起来。然而，这些群体层面的味觉形状对应关系可能掩盖了个体层面的重要差异。我们一方面研究了个体对曲率和对称之间的跨模态对应的敏感性的差异程度，另一方面研究了五种基本味觉品质（甜、苦、咸、酸和鲜）。在实验 1 中，参与者匹配形状（弯曲与有角、对称与不对称）和品味词。在实验 2 中，参与者执行了类似的任务，不过这次使用的是实际的促味剂。鉴于人们对这些形状和口味的享乐体验不同，我们还分别测量了参与者对每种口味和形状的喜好。结果复制了弯曲甜刺激和对称甜刺激之间的一般跨模态对应关系。此外，参与者倾向于将酸味和苦味与有棱角和不对称的刺激相匹配。然而，这些群体层面的品味形状对应关系与个人层面的巨大差异并存。虽然一些参与者始终将特定口味与弯曲和对称的刺激相匹配，但其他参与者始终将这些口味与有角度和不对称的刺激相匹配，或者没有表现出这些口味与形状的对应关系。对弯曲和对称刺激的喜爱程度高于对有角度和不对称刺激的喜爱程度。然而，参与者在这些视觉特征影响他们喜好的程度上也存在很大差异。总体而言，我们的研究结果强调了与人们联想和喜欢形状和口味的程度相关的巨大个体差异。