Howard Moskowitz

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title: "Howard Moskowitz" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public description: "American market researcher and psychophysicist" topic_path: "uncategorized" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Howard_Moskowitz" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary American market researcher and psychophysicist ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox scientist"]

Field	Value
name	Howard R. Moskowitz
birth_date	1945
birth_place	United States
nationality	American
fields	Psychology, Psychophysics, Market research, Sensory science
workplaces	U.S. Army Natick Laboratories; Moskowitz Jacobs Inc.
alma_mater	Queens College, City University of New York (B.A., Mathematics & Psychology)
Harvard University (Ph.D., Experimental Psychology, 1969)
doctoral_advisor	S. S. Stevens
known_for	Mind Genomics, consumer preference segmentation, product optimization, sensory psychophysics
awards	Scientific Director’s Gold Medal (U.S. Army Natick Laboratories)
David R. Peryam Award (ASTM)
Research Innovation Award (ARF)
Market Research Council Hall of Fame
Fellow of the Institute of Food Technologists (2004)
William Procter Prize (Sigma Xi)
website	Board Profile
::

| name = Howard R. Moskowitz | image = | image_size = | caption = | birth_date = 1945 | birth_place = United States | nationality = American | fields = Psychology, Psychophysics, Market research, Sensory science | workplaces = U.S. Army Natick Laboratories; Moskowitz Jacobs Inc. | alma_mater = Queens College, City University of New York (B.A., Mathematics & Psychology) Harvard University (Ph.D., Experimental Psychology, 1969) | doctoral_advisor = S. S. Stevens | known_for = Mind Genomics, consumer preference segmentation, product optimization, sensory psychophysics | awards = Scientific Director’s Gold Medal (U.S. Army Natick Laboratories) David R. Peryam Award (ASTM) Research Innovation Award (ARF) Market Research Council Hall of Fame Fellow of the Institute of Food Technologists (2004) William Procter Prize (Sigma Xi) | website = Board Profile

Howard R. Moskowitz (born ) is an American market researcher and psychophysicist. He is known for the detailed study he made of the types of spaghetti sauce and horizontal segmentation. By providing a large number of options for consumers, Moskowitz pioneered the idea of intermarket variability as applied to the food industry.

Early life and education

Moskowitz earned undergraduate degrees in mathematics and psychology from Queens College, City University of New York, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa.

He went on to complete a Ph.D. in Experimental Psychology at Harvard University in 1969, where he studied under S. S. Stevens, the influential psychologist known for developing modern psychophysics and the theory of measurement scales. His doctoral research focused on psychophysics and sensory perception.

Products

After graduating from Harvard, Moskowitz was hired by the United States Army to improve their Meals, Ready-to-Eat, where he applied the concept of sensory-specific satiety, the tendency for consumers to tire of strongly flavored foods, to ensure that the meals were formulated in a way that encouraged soldiers to eat sufficient calories.

Since at least the 1980s, Moskowitz has been consulted by Campbell Soup, General Foods, Kraft and PepsiCo for his expertise in food optimization. According to Moskowitz he has optimized soups, pizzas, salad dressings, and pickles in his work for various firms. His research on Prego spaghetti sauce, which revealed a significant customer preference for an "extra-chunky" formulation, is notable as was his optimization of the amount of salt, sugar, and fat in spaghetti sauce at the "bliss point" which maximized consumer satisfaction.

Moskowitz developed Cherry Vanilla Dr Pepper when he was hired in 2004 by Cadbury Schweppes, which was hoping to expand the market for Dr Pepper by developing a product line extension using an alternative formulation with vanilla or cherry flavors.

References

References

1. (4 May 2012). "What Does Spaghetti Sauce Have To Do With Happiness?". NPR.
2. Gladwell, Malcolm. (2009). "What The Dog Saw". Little, Brown and Company.
3. "Dr. Howard Moskowitz Bio". University of Kragujevac.
4. "Howard R. Moskowitz – OECD Summit Speaker".
5. "How The Food Industry Helps Engineer Our Cravings".
6. Moss, Michael. (2013-02-20). "The Extraordinary Science of Addictive Junk Food". The New York Times.
7. Vanhemert, Kyle. "How Junk Food Is Engineered To Be Hopelessly Addicting".

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