A multi-dimensional scaling exploration of ten year olds' food combination rules

This exploratory investigation concerned the non-random ways in which foods are served together in meals. The names of 40 common foods were arranged in pairs and presented randomly in sets of 39 pairs (per form) to each of 650 ten-year-olds. The children were asked to indicate “how well the foods in each pair would go together to form a nice meal, ” using a three point scale. They also described the foods on sixteen adjectival scales. Multidimensional scaling analysis of the paired comparisons mean scores derived four dimensions which accounted for 50 percent of their variance. Attempts were made to identify these dimensions by informal inspection, and by multiple regression analyses in which adjectival scale means and nutrient values were separate sets of predictor variables. The major first dimension contrasted fattening and savoury aspects of food, and the second was related to social usage; the other dimensions were less clearly identified. The results are discussed in relation to children’s food combination rules.