Maybe that’s why your behavior is “sweet”.
According to a study published in, scientists have found that people with a sweet tooth are generally more sociable. Journal of Research in Personality.
“Research has shown that preference for sweet foods is associated with acceptability,” said the study, compiled by researchers at Gettysburg College in Pennsylvania.
In fact, these findings may be the reason why we call more sociable people “sweet” in Western terminology.
Although this link between sugar cravings and sweet treats has been observed before in the US, it is not yet clear whether this rule applies internationally.
To test whether this link is universal, researchers recruited 1,629 participants and had them fill out a survey assessing their levels of openness, conscientiousness, agreeableness, extraversion, and neuroticism. Daily Mail reported.
They were then asked to rate 10 saccharine items – ranging from candy to maple syrup and raisins – on a scale of one (dislike very much) to six (like very much).
Finally, they ranked their tastes for sweet, sour, salty, bitter and spicy foods to see where they fall on the taste spectrum.
They found that there was a cross-cultural correlation between sociability and candy crush.
“Preference for sweet foods is a universal human trait that has been reported to be positive,” the researchers declare.
Although there are likely a number of factors behind this association, researchers have concluded that it is largely related to language and not the psychological consequences of sugar mixing.
“If people understand that sweetness and goodness are linked through metaphor, and people believe that they are either good or like sweet foods, then people see themselves as a person who “Can look for consistency by looking at who is good and likes sweet food,” he wrote. “People can resonate with experiences that fit their personality. Metaphor may be one way to examine this fit.
Ultimately, “the exact mechanisms involved in the effects cannot be determined,” because the research is “correlational” in nature, the researchers concluded.
No word on whether hot sauce lovers tend to be spicy, people with salty tastes are salty, or people who like trail mix are a little nutty.
However, previous research has shown an association between psychopathic, antisocial, and sadistic personality traits enjoying bitter food,
