Perceptual and Motor Skills, 1975, 40, 974. @ Perceptual and Motor Skills 1975
EFFECT OF THE MENSTRUAL CYCLE ON SUBJECTIVE RATINGS OF SWEETNESS MICHAEL AARON East Texas State University Evidence has been presented for changes in some sensory thresholds during the course of the menstrual cycle (2, 4 ) . Variations in the subjective ratings of how pleasant sugar solutions are have been shown at phases of the menstrual cycle when subjects were tested before and after ingestion of a glucose meal ( 3 ) . The present study assessed changes In sweetness preferences of women in various phases of the menstrual cycle. The subjects were 74 naive, volunteer, non-obese women ranging in age from 18 to 36 yr. They were divided into two groups; 39 who were using some form of oral contraceptive and 35 who were not using any oral contraceptive at the time of testing. Prior to the procedure, each subject was asked to answer five questions pertaining to dates and length of her lasc two menstruation periods in order to determine the length of her cycle. The test procedures were conducted between 8:15 and 10:OO a.m. The subjects were asked noc to smoke or eat anything (except water) from rising until the procedure took place. The subjects were presented with three sugar solutions ( 2 molar. 1 molar and .5 molar) in random sequence, held the solutions in their mouth for 15 sec., expectorated, and immediately rated each solution on a subjective scale from 1 (very unpleasant) to 10 (very pleasant). Between each solution they were given a small piece of pasteurized process cheese food to kill the taste of the previous solution. The experimenter was in ignorance of the phase of each subject's cycle until after all subjects were tested, when the protocols were compiled. To take into account individual differences in lenmh, the menstrual cycle of each subject was divided into five equal phases, A to E, and Tach subject was placed into one of these on the basis of which phase of her cycle she was in when tested (cf. 3 ) . The first day of menstrual bleeding was counted as Day 1. This phasing of the cycle assured thac menstruation occurred during Phase A and roughly placed ovulation in Phase C and the premenstrual period in Phase E. A three-way factorial splic-plot analysis ( 1 ) showed a difference among phases of the menstrual cycle in the sweetness preferences of women ( 9 .05). The subjects tested in Phase D found the sugar solutions significantly less pleasant than did those tested in Phases A and C (Tukey's HSD test, .10 > > .05). A comparison of the means of the phases shows some interesting variations ( A = 6.61; B = 5.65; C = 6.44; D = 5.31; E = 5.96). The means in Phases A and C were elevated compared to those of Phases B and E. Direct measurement of hormone level would be necessary to state causal relationships. The significant results tend to support the study of Wright and Crow and point to the need for future research in this area.
EFFECT OF THE MENSTRUAL CYCLE ON SUBJECTIVE RATINGS OF SWEETNESS MICHAEL AARON East Texas State University Evidence has been presented for changes in some sensory thresholds during the course of the menstrual cycle (2, 4 ) . Variations in the subjective ratings of how pleasant sugar solutions are have been shown at phases of the menstrual cycle when subjects were tested before and after ingestion of a glucose meal ( 3 ) . The present study assessed changes In sweetness preferences of women in various phases of the menstrual cycle. The subjects were 74 naive, volunteer, non-obese women ranging in age from 18 to 36 yr. They were divided into two groups; 39 who were using some form of oral contraceptive and 35 who were not using any oral contraceptive at the time of testing. Prior to the procedure, each subject was asked to answer five questions pertaining to dates and length of her lasc two menstruation periods in order to determine the length of her cycle. The test procedures were conducted between 8:15 and 10:OO a.m. The subjects were asked noc to smoke or eat anything (except water) from rising until the procedure took place. The subjects were presented with three sugar solutions ( 2 molar. 1 molar and .5 molar) in random sequence, held the solutions in their mouth for 15 sec., expectorated, and immediately rated each solution on a subjective scale from 1 (very unpleasant) to 10 (very pleasant). Between each solution they were given a small piece of pasteurized process cheese food to kill the taste of the previous solution. The experimenter was in ignorance of the phase of each subject's cycle until after all subjects were tested, when the protocols were compiled. To take into account individual differences in lenmh, the menstrual cycle of each subject was divided into five equal phases, A to E, and Tach subject was placed into one of these on the basis of which phase of her cycle she was in when tested (cf. 3 ) . The first day of menstrual bleeding was counted as Day 1. This phasing of the cycle assured thac menstruation occurred during Phase A and roughly placed ovulation in Phase C and the premenstrual period in Phase E. A three-way factorial splic-plot analysis ( 1 ) showed a difference among phases of the menstrual cycle in the sweetness preferences of women ( 9 .05). The subjects tested in Phase D found the sugar solutions significantly less pleasant than did those tested in Phases A and C (Tukey's HSD test, .10 > > .05). A comparison of the means of the phases shows some interesting variations ( A = 6.61; B = 5.65; C = 6.44; D = 5.31; E = 5.96). The means in Phases A and C were elevated compared to those of Phases B and E. Direct measurement of hormone level would be necessary to state causal relationships. The significant results tend to support the study of Wright and Crow and point to the need for future research in this area.
