Thursday, 12 August 2010

• Junk Food Psychology

  

   

  My GOD I love the New York Times so much.

  The psych world has done it again - another brilliant study completed.  Like most of the choices we make on an everyday basis, which foods we like/choose to eat give great insight into our subconscious, and by way of the transitive property, our personalities as well. 

  Apparently, tastes are formulated in a greatly Pavlovian manner.  Good and bad experiences, even if they are barely noticeable or slight, regularly create aversions or preferences to food; if I notice rice in my throw-up one time, for example, I may stop liking rice, or if I eat apple pie on Thanksgiving every year and I absolutely love Thanksgiving, I may tend towards apple pie when it comes to choosing dessert.

  And then there are less obvious experiences that we may not always be aware of having - hedonics, which is the field of psychology that studies feelings, is greatly tied to factors involved with tasting food as well.  Besides gustatory (taste) and olfactory (smell) aspects of food, cognitive perception (our knowledge of what we are eating - things like nutritional value, smell-evoked nostalgia, craving, and associated conditioned response characteristics) is also part of our tasting experience.

  Dr. Alan R. Hirsch conducted the study I'm about to describe.  He is a neurologist/psychologist, and runs the Smell and Taste Treatment and Research Foundation in Chicago.  He is an acclaimed "smell and taste expert," and has exercised this skill on CNN, "Good Morning, America", and the Oprah Winfrey Show.

  The study is fascinating.  800 volunteers (both male and female, with a median age of 45 and an age range of 17-77) underwent a series of tests pertaining to their personalities (various tests used frequently in psychology for diagnoses).  They were then asked to answer questions about snack food preferences, as they applied to six specific foods: potato chips, tortilla chips, pretzels, snack crackers, cheese curls, and meat snacks. Their spouses were asked to complete all of the same tests.

  Personality tests and preference surveys were then combined for analysis.  This is what Hirsch found (in sum) about the personalities associated with the people who tended towards each food:

  POTATO CHIPS

  • ambitious, high-achievers, successful in both business and family life
  • prefer for their loved ones to be highly successful as well
  • accept nothing less than the best in people, and have high expectations
  • detest inconveniences of any kind
  • always prepared for opposition/competition

  TORTILLA CHIPS

  • perfectionists - won't be satisfied unless all things are as best they can possibly be
  • great concern for the feelings and well-being of all others around them
  • great house guests 
  • very much concerned with the injustices and inequities of society and/or their communities

  PRETZELS

  • big flirts, and very comfortable with looking as attractive as possible
  • "the life of the party"
  • lively and energetic, and very easily bored
  • constantly need to change things up both at work and home
  • love a challenge
  • think very abstractly and tend to find everyday routine very mundane
  • move from task to task very quickly, often leaving things undone
  • overcommit to one thing at a time, cutting out others (for example, work vs. family)

  SNACK CRACKERS

  • contemplative, thoughtful, insightful, introverted
  • avoid confrontation for fear of hurting someone else's feelings
  • tend to be involved in multiple projects at a time, and have to divide their attention accordingly
  • prefer to be alone and value private time immensely
  • likely to get involved in a romantic relationship via the internet

  CHEESE CURLS

  • formal, always proper, conscientious, well-mannered, and very firm about maintaining high moral standards in all aspects of their lives
  • treat everyone equally, regardless of factors such as status or position within a company
  • always prepared for the future, in any situation - and tend to expect the worst
  • tend to maintain a spotless house

  MEAT SNACKS

  • gregarious, social, outgoing
  • so generous that they tend to put the needs of others in front of their own, and often put themselves at huge disadvantages to help out
  • loyal, true, trustworthy, honest
  • overtrusting, and therefore prone towards being quite emotional with those they love
  • need to avoid rebound relationships

   

  They might start using food preferences as factors in diagnosing psychiatric disease.  This is so awesome.

   

  Which snack do you prefer - and do you feel like the personality description fits you?

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