Studies Show People Who Like Sweet Things Are More Agreeable

Ever heard Lizzo’s iconic “I just took a DNA test, turns out that I’m 100% that bitch,” and thought “Man! I want a science-based, research-backed flex? But I’m also a lil’ softie?” Boy, do we have incredibly specific good news for you. Several studies have shown an association between a taste for sweet foods and agreeableness. It may not fit quite so easily into a banger, but you could always try playing your baddie card by strutting into a room and announcing “according to a paper published in the Journal of Research in Personality, there’s cross-cultural evidence for an association between agreeableness and sweet taste preferences.” Then, take a bite out of a cookie, wink, and thank us later. 

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So, if I eat cookies people will think I’m nice?

Not really but also maybe? As with most grabby headlines, it’s important to note that correlation does not equal causation. Scientists worldwide pretty much have this tattooed on their foreheads, but it bears repeating: the findings do not suggest that eating a lot of sweets will make you more agreeable—unless you share your chocolates, but some might say that’s cheating. 

How did they come up with these findings?

The Journal of Research study focused on samples from four distinct countries: China, Germany, Mexico, and the US. A total of 1,629 participants completed a measure of agreeableness and two measures of sweet taste preferences, and the results revealed a statistically significant positive correlation between these, across all four countries. 

Skeptics and bitter folks (pun intended) may be tempted to have a field day with this “too good to be true” finding, but it’s not an isolated trend. According to Science Daily, a separate study found participants who ate a bit of chocolate, versus a non-sweet food like a cracker, or no food, were more likely to volunteer to help another person in need. 

Why is this happening?

The reasoning for the connection goes a little bit beyond just being hangry or too busy trying to replenish the saliva in your mouth after housing a saltine. It could be based in language. Michael Schaefer, a neuropsychologist at Medical School Berlin, says, “According to the conceptual metaphor theory, metaphors such as ‘love is sweet’ may be more than just linguistic terms—they can build scaffolds to unconsciously guide our behavior.” This fancy-sounding metaphor theory is the idea that metaphors map abstract concepts (like agreeableness) onto more tangible experiences (like tasting something sweet) to help with understanding. This eventually guides people to thinking about these abstract concepts with a connection to these tangible experiences. So, if you’ve ever rolled your eyes at two lovebirds calling each other “sweetie pie” or cringed when your auntie called you “honey bear,” take a moment to appreciate the role they played in perpetuating your cool new scientific excuse to finish off that cupcake.