In the present study we examined whether categorization difficulty regarding a
food is related to its likability. For this purpose, we produced stimulus images
by morphing photographs of a tomato and a strawberry. Subjects categorized these
images as either a tomato or a strawberry and in separate sessions evaluated the
food’s eatability or the subject’s willingness to eat (Experiments 1 and 2) and
the likeliness of existence of each food (Experiment 2). The lowest score for
ca- tegorization confidence coincided with the lowest scores for eatability,
willingness to eat, and likeliness of existence. In Experiment 3, we found that
food neophobia, a trait of ingestion avoidance of novel foods, modulated food
likability but not categorization confidence. These findings suggest that a high
categorization difficulty generally co-occurs with a decrease in food likability
and that food neophobia modulates likability. This avoidance of
difficult-to-categorize foods seems ecologically valid because before eating we
have little information regarding whether a food is potentially harmful.
