STUDY - Sweet Foods Makes People Sweeter

Does having a sweet tooth make a person more agreeable and friendly?


New research suggests there could be a link between taste preferences and disposition.
Scientists in the United States found that a liking for sweeter foods is an indication that a person is more agreeable and helpful, but not extroverted or neurotic


In one of five studies involving more than 500 people researchers from Gettysburg College in Pennsylvania, St. Xavier University in Chicago and North Dakota State University showed that people who ate a piece of chocolate rather than a non-sweet food were more likely to volunteer and help another person in need.
In another study they found that people also associate having a sweet tooth with a pleasant disposition. The participants were shown photos of people with neutral facial expressions, but with comments under the pictures that would say, for example, that they liked eating chocolate.
“People rated those associated with sweet food higher in agreeableness,” Meiers, , a psychology professor at Gettysburg College in Pennsylvania said.
The research, which is published in the Journal of Personality Social Psychology, focused on sweetness and agreeability. The scientists said they could not comment on the other tastes such as bitterness or spiciness.