Researchers share which food psychopaths are more likely to enjoy
What we eat tells us a lot about ourselves.
Now, we're not talking about becoming French if you have French Fries, or becoming a marathon winner if you indulge in the occasional runner bean - like that 90s Green Giant Sweetcorn ad made us all believe. But, scientists are continually working on how our taste preferences could be associated with our personality.
When we're babies, we tend to love a sweet tastes over bitter and sour foods (don't give a baby a lemon to test this theory) - but as we get older our palette expands, hopefully. One study in particular explored individual differences in tastes of certain food and antisocial personality traits - and yielded some interesting results.
In 2016, researchers conducted two studies using US community samples. Participants had to self-report their taste preferences whilst also answering a number of personality questionnaires that are used to assess Machiavellianism, psychopathy, narcissism, everyday sadism, trait aggression, and the Big Five factors of personality.
Both studies found that bitter taste preferences are 'positively associated' with 'malevolent personality traits'. It concluded their was a 'robust' relation to everyday sadism and psychopathy.
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"The data thereby provide novel insights into the relationship between personality and the ubiquitous behaviours of eating and drinking by consistently demonstrating a robust relation between increased enjoyment of bitter foods and heightened sadistic proclivities," the study concluded. So, if you like black coffee, dark chocolate, anchovies and wine - are you more likely to be a psychopath? Should the police start scouring Starbucks on the hunt for anyone who doesn't want their coffee doused in caramel syrup?
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The short answer is no, as there are a bunch of factors that shape our taste buds - and correlation doesn't mean cause. For example, people may pass on eating sweet foods because they tend to be higher in calories and could contribute to weight gain. Many people's food choices are also dictated by their finances, as certain products are too expensive to purchase regularly.
Then, there is the social side of food and drink, where researchers state 'originally unpalatable food' can start tasting better through exposure. Basically, if you keep drinking black coffee and tell yourself it tastes nice, you may end up believing yourself.
So, if your co-worker or partner loves bitter foods and rarely binges on sugary sweets - it doesn't mean they're a psychopath. But the link is certainly an interesting one, that needs further investigation.
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