Food and Personality.. The most unpredictable pair
Food. OMG. Let’s be real for a second. Where would we be without the savory delight of spicy foods? Or the sweet sensation of melting chocolate? We eat every day, but did you know what you decide to eat – especially your favorite food – says a lot about who you are? Your favorite food can reveal a lot about your personality
Let’s get snacking!!
Sweet Tooth?
So, you got your hand down the cookie jar. I knew it. You love sweet foods and you aren’t afraid to get your hands dirty to get a taste of those sweet chocolate chip cookies every now and then, huh? Well, then.. hold on to your candy.
According to a study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, researchers found that people view those who were associated with sweet foods as more agreeable and friendly. Basically, just a pleasant person all-around!!
Additionally, Researchers conducted another study which revealed that those who chose to eat a piece of chocolate rather than a non-sweet food, were found to likely volunteer more and help others in need. Aren’t they just the sweetest? Literally.
Pass the HOT SAUCE, please.
A study by the Institute of Food Technologists from researcher Nadia Byrnes revealed that if you enjoy risk taking and intense stimulation, you likely like spicey foods as well. In the study, Byrnes assessed participants using the Arnett Inventory of Sensation Seeking (AISS), a personality test to assess if you indeed are sensation-seeking, and presumed to contribute to risk preferences.
Subjects were given an active ingredient in chili peppers and had to rate how much they liked it. Those who enjoyed the food despite the increasing burn, where found to have higher scored on the AISS test! So, you like to take risks, huh? That’s pretty, pretty cool. I mean, even if it is just eating spicy chicken wings or shawarma.
Chips is Food!
A study by Alan Hirsch found that job satisfaction is related to your favorite savory snack. “A person’s job selection reflects his essential essence and his personality,” he says. “Food choices can provide insight in personality and character structure.”
While it may seem silly to have a snack-personality test, Alan Hirsch says “it’s much less goofy than using the Rorschach test to determine personality.” He explains that Inkblot perceptions “are based on occipital lobe activity, in the visual cortex of the brain. But the preference for taste is in the olfactory cortex, in the limbic lobe, which is the emotional part of the brain.” To Hirsch, studying personality through emotions is much more logical.
So, it seems if you love potato chips, you are successful and ambitious. If you often find yourself eating out of a family size bag of chips? You also have high expectations of others, and yourself and can get frustrated by life’s inconveniences. You are extremely competitive as well, which likely aids you on your journey to success. Also, those who prefer potato chips are “the most aggressive, the go-getters, and the ones that never accept a no.”
Cheese. Delicious, Soft, Melty, Food…
Love cheese? We’re going to be best friends!! It means you are likely “formal, conscientious and always proper,” according to Hirsch’s study. Wow. Who knew, right? Now, I know why I love cheese.
Meat Lover!
If you love meat, then according to Hirsch it looks like you are the type who is “gregarious,” and “generous to a fault.” Guess what? You’re also the type to think of another’s comfort before your own. Awww. So nice. You’ll risk your own comfort to please those around you. That’s so altruistic of you!
Fruits and Vegetables? Nice Food Choice!
If you are conscientious of your eating habits and like to eat a healthy delicious salad or two, topped off with some yummy fruits, then you are have an open view and personality according to a 2015 study published in the journal Appetite. You are willing to try new experiences and do new things! So, if you favor eating more healthy items as opposed to meat, you likely have a conscientious personality.
You Adore High-calorie Foods
If you choose the high-calorie foods over the healthy option, most of the time? You’re likely the neurotic type. Kind of like sometimes when the rain is pouring hard! The same 2015 study published in the journal Appetite, found that neurotic people ate more high-calorie foods including sweets and engaged more in emotional eating. How are you not supposed to eat an entire bag of Cheetos during the unstable and intense finale of Breaking Bad? Yeah. That’s just not happening!
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Currently, I am a student of Fatima Jinnah Women University. With a burning passion for psychology, words, and dreams, I decided to abandon medical studies for humanities. These days, when I’m not listening to ballads, watching movies, or sitting down with a good novel, I am rigorously studying Hangul (Korean language) to satisfy my obsession for BTS and K dramas. I’m a thinking introvert and INFJ personality. Therefore, I like ‘me time’. My articles typically resonate with psychological well-being advice.
