Scoville scale Scoville scale The Scoville scale is a measurement of the pungency (spiciness or "heat") of chili peppers and other spicy foods, as recorded in Scoville Heat Units (SHU) based on the concentration of capsaicinoids, among which capsaicin is the predominant component. The scale is named after its creator, American pharmacist Wilbur Scoville, whose 1912 method is known as the Scoville organoleptic test. In the 21st century, high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) is used to quantify the capsaicinoid content as an indicator of pungency. The most expedient method for estimating SHU is a subjective assessment derived from the capsaicinoid sensitivity by people
Mokken scale Mokken scale The Mokken Scale is a psychometric method of data reduction. A Mokken scale is a unidimensional scale that consists of hierarchically-ordered items that measure the same underlying, latent concept. This method is named after the political scientist Rob Mokken who suggested it in 1971. Mokken Scales have been used in psychology, education, political science, public opinion, medicine and nursing. Mokken scaling belongs to Item response theory. In essence, a Mokken scale is a non-parametric, probabilistic version of Guttman scale. Both Guttman and Mokken scaling can be used to assess whether a number of items measure the same underlying