Behavioural Patterns in Projective Mapping: Implications for Sensory Map Interpretation and Data Quality
Projective mapping is widely used in sensory and consumer science to capture perceptual
similarities/dissimilarities among products by allowing participants to spatially position
samples according to perceived relationships. However, individuals may adopt different
spatial strategies when performing this task, potentially influencing the structure and
interpretability of the resulting sensory maps. This study aimed to classify participant
behaviours during a screen-based projective mapping task and evaluate whether these
behaviours are associated with their cognitive style. Data were collected from 495
participants across twelve independent sensory evaluation studies, each involving
approximately 80 to 110 participants. Based on spatial utilisation patterns, participant
behaviours were classified into four categories: "Normal," representing a comprehensive
understanding of the bi-dimensional task; "Unidimensional," characterised by linear
positioning; "Compact," demonstrating minimal use of the available positioning space; and
"Random," suggesting a misunderstanding of the task instructions. The relationship between
positioning behaviour and cognitive style was also investigated using the Cognitive Style
Index (Allison & Hayes, 1996). The data analysis revealed that Normal behaviour was the
most prevalent, with a relative frequency of 52.5%, followed by Compact (29.9%),
Unidimensional (14.1%), and Random (3.6%). This distribution is observed throughout the
twelve studies analysed. These results indicate that while most participants successfully
used the two-dimensional space to perform the projective mapping task, a significant
proportion adopted alternative spatial strategies that may affect the granularity and
interpretability of sensory maps. The analysis of the cognitive style didn’t reveal any tendency
or correlation with the positioning behaviour, with the panels composed of participants
classified as analytic or quasi-analytic (both approximately half). This behavioural taxonomy
provides an objective framework for monitoring participants’ performance and refining digital
sensory methodologies to ensure data validity in consumer-based product characterisation.
Publish date 2026-08-21
Author(s) Diego Martinez1; Rui Costa Lima; Joana Ferreira; Celia Rocha; Bruna Barbosa; Carlos Cabral; Luis Baião; Luis Miguel Cunha
