If you’re dealing with a crabby co-worker or exasperating friend this season, maybe you should offer them some cake or cookies, because a new study has discovered that eating sweets make you sweet.
Researchers have done a study that suggests that people with a “sweet tooth” have sweeter dispositions. Psychologist Brian Meier says, "Taste is something we experience every day. Our research examined whether metaphors that link taste preferences with pro-social experiences (which is why we say, ‘she’s a sweetheart’) can be used to shed light on actual personality traits and behavior."
His research included a series of five studies. In one study, he found that participants who ate a sweet food (a specific brand of chocolate), versus a non-sweet food (a cracker), or no food, were more likely to volunteer to help another person in need. He also found in another study that people believe that a person who likes sweet foods like candy or chocolate cake (compared to foods from the other four taste types) is also more agreeable or helpful, but not more extroverted or neurotic.
His teammate, psychologist Michael D. Robinson, says, "Our results suggest there is a real link between sweet tastes and pro-social behavior. Such findings reveal that metaphors can lead to unique and provocative predictions about people’s behaviors and personality traits."
Our suggestion? When you befriend someone (or apply for a new job), try to go out to lunch with the person before you commit yourself and see if they order dessert.
But some of us like sweets TOO MUCH, which is why we’ve gained weight. Help is here! If you’re overweight, you need to download Anne Strieber’s famous diet book, "What I Learned From the Fat Years." Using scientific principles, she devised a diet that helped her to lose 100 pounds and YOU CAN TOO.
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