A study at Oxford University coauthored by Charles Spence fed people either a tossed salad, neatly placed at the center of their plates, or an artistically arranged version of the same salad, styled to resemble a Kandinsky canvas, with mushrooms juxtaposed at right angles to shredded carrots and asymmetric dots of orange dressing. Diners rated the second dish as far more delicious, and were willing to pay more for it.
