Scientists reveal what your snack choice says about your personality: are you a sweet or savory person?

By William On Nov 8, 2024

When you walk to the snack cupboard, do you reach for a pack of chips or a chocolate bar?

Your answer can reveal a lot about your personality, according to a new study.

Researchers surveyed people in China, Germany, Mexico and the US about their snack choices and their key characteristics.

Their analysis found that people with a sweet tooth were generally more agreeable in all four countries.

The findings could explain why we often describe nice people as “sweet,” according to the Gettysburg College team.

‘The association between friendliness and the preference for sweet taste coincides with terms sometimes used to describe nice and kind people, as well as people we love in some cultures (e.g. ‘sweet’, ‘honey’ or ‘honey ‘),’ the researchers wrote.

Previous studies have found a link between a preference for sweet foods and friendliness.

Until now, however, it remained unclear whether or not this connection holds across cultures.

When you walk to the snack cupboard, do you reach for a pack of chips or a chocolate bar? Your answer can reveal a lot about your personality, according to a new study (stock image)

Writing in their study, published in the Journal of Personality Researchwrote the team, led by Brian P. Meier: ‘Although studies have found a link between preferences for sweet flavors and pleasantness, previous work has focused on samples in the US.

“This association may or may not occur across cultures.”

The team had a total of 1,629 participants: 373 from China, 471 from Germany, 400 from Mexico and 399 from the US.

First, participants completed a survey to assess their levels of the “Big 5” personality traits: openness, conscientiousness, agreeableness, extroversion, and neuroticism.

They then completed a ‘sweet taste preference scale’.

‘(This) has ten items (candy, caramel, chocolate cake, honey, ice cream, maple syrup, pears, raisins, strawberries and sugar) for which people rate their preference on a 1 (dislike at all) to 6 (dislike at all) scale ‘, the researchers explained.

Participants were also asked to rate their preferences for sweet, sour, salty, bitter and spicy foods.

The results showed that acceptability was ‘significantly and positively’ correlated with sweet taste preferences in participants from all four countries.

The results showed that, among participants from all four countries, agreeableness was ‘significantly and positively’ correlated with sweet taste preferences (stock image)

“The results of this project suggest that the link between pleasantness and sweet taste preference extends across cultures that vary widely in social values, norms, customs, languages and locations,” the researchers said.

The team emphasizes that metaphors for sweetness are universal.

“Eating sweets is a universally pleasurable experience, even more so than other flavor types,” she added.

‘Moreover, being kind and caring appears to be evolutionarily adaptive for both individuals and societies, compared to traits such as conscientiousness or openness.

‘The universal occurrence of these metaphors and preferences for sweet food and kind/caring people suggest that sweet taste experiences may be an appropriate perceptual experience for conceptualizing more abstract concepts such as niceness.’

BIG FIVE PERSONALITY TRAITS

The ‘Big Five’ personality traits are openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness and neuroticism.

The Big Five personality framework theory uses these descriptors to outline the broad dimensions of people’s personality and psyche.

Under each broad category are a number of correlated and specific factors.

These are the five most important points:

Openness – this is about appreciating emotion, adventure and unusual ideas.

People who are generally open have higher levels of intellectual curiosity and creativity.

They are also more unpredictable and are likely to engage in risky behavior such as taking drugs.

Conscientiousness – conscientious people are more likely to be organized and reliable.

These people have self-discipline and act dutifully, preferring planned behavior over spontaneous behavior.

They can be stubborn and obsessive at times.

Extraversion – these people tend to seek stimulation in the company of others and are energetic, positive and assertive.

They can sometimes be attention-seeking and dominant.

Individuals lower in extraversion are reserved and may be seen as aloof or self-centered.

Pleasantness – these individuals tend to be compassionate and cooperative, rather than hostile, toward other people.

Sometimes people who are very agreeable are seen as naive or submissive.

People with lower levels of agreeableness are competitive or challenging.

Neuroticism – People with high levels of neuroticism are prone to psychological stress and become angry, anxious and depressed easily.

More stable people are calmer, but can sometimes be seen as uninspired and unconcerned.

People with higher neuroticism tend to have poorer psychological well-being.