Research has shown that a preference for sweet foods is associated with trait agreeableness. The association between agreeableness and the preference for a sweet taste coincides with terms sometimes used to describe kind and nice people as well as people we love in some cultures (“sweet,” “sweetie,” or “honey”).
These links can be explained based on conceptual metaphor theory. The central tenet of the theory is that metaphors map abstract concepts (for example, niceness) onto more concrete domains (for example, sweet taste experiences) to aid understanding. In the conceptual metaphor theory, metaphoric mappings are cognitive associations, often learned through experience or a process of embodiment, that eventually allow people to think about or represent abstract concepts in terms that are more readily perceptible, such as taste.
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A new journal article published this week (on which I am a co-author) aimed to examine whether the association between sweet taste preferences and agreeableness occurs across cultures. To answer this question, the study tested 373 Chinese participants, 474 German participants, 401 Mexican participants, and 402 American participants.
Participants completed a 10-item trait agreeableness scale that asked them how much certain statements (for example, “sympathize with others’ feelings,” “take time out for others,” “have a soft heart”) describe them using a 1 (very inaccurate) to 5 (very accurate) scale. Participants also completed a sweet taste preference scale, which had ten items (that is, candy, caramel, chocolate cake, honey, ice cream, maple syrup, pears, raisins, strawberries, and sugar) that they rated using a 1 (dislike strongly) to 6 (like strongly) scale. Additionally, participants rated (1 = dislike strongly to 6 = like strongly) how much they liked five taste types: sweet, sour, salty, bitter, and spicy.
The study found that agreeableness was significantly and positively correlated with the two different measures of sweet taste preferences in all four samples. Particularly, people who like sweet foods are more likely to “sympathize with others’ feelings,” “take time out for others,” “have a soft heart,” and so on. Therefore, the study’s results suggest that people across cultures use sweet taste experiences to understand or conceptualize niceness in line with the theory framework.
The study led by Brian P. Meier, “Cross-cultural evidence for an association between agreeableness and sweet taste preferences,” was published this week in the scientific journal Journal of Research in Personality.
