A nutritional psychologist reveals what your favorite dish says about your personality - and we hope it's not pasta

A professor of experimental psychology claims that through your favorite dish you can learn a lot about your personality.

Pasta lovers, for example, probably suffer from insecurity

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10/08/2022

Wednesday, August 10, 2022, 00:00

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The mother who designs the vegetable plates for her children for the meal (Walla! News system)

We all have a favorite dish, whether it's pizza, pasta or oven-baked chicken.

Now it turns out that our every dietary preference has a direct connection to our personality - and if we are lovers of bitter food, this probably indicates a dark side in our personality.

Charles Spence, a professor of experimental psychology at the University of Oxford wrote an article entitled "What is the relationship between personality and food preferences?"

Recently published in the fifth volume of the journal Current Research in Food Science.

"Researchers have established a number of strong links between personality characteristics and our preferences and sensitivities to basic tastes such as sweet, bitter, salty, sour and the mysterious fifth taste 'ummi' (the salty or meaty taste of foods)," he explained in the article, "according to the theory of our big five personality traits , five major factors determine a person's personality: 1. Extraversion = open/energetic vs. solitary/reserved. 2. Agreeableness = friendly/compassionate vs. critical/rational. 3. Openness to experience = resourceful/curious vs. consistent/cautious. 4. Conscientiousness = efficient/organized vs. extravagant/reckless. 5. Neuroticism = sensitive/stressed vs. flexible/confident. Interestingly, some of these traits correlate with different aspects of our behavior toward food."

Professor Spence explained that one of the most common connections between personality and food behavior stems from a dimension of extroversion or introversion.

"Extroverts tend to like more sensation, whether from the food they eat or the music they listen to," he added, "Extroverts also tend to engage more in activities with feeling and emotion than introverts. Therefore, extroverts are more likely to choose a spicy dish than introverts."

Extroverts will prefer well-seasoned food (Photo: ShutterStock)

He added: "The search for new things is also linked to a preference for salty foods. Orthodox people tend to enjoy a much narrower range of foods. If you are open to experiencing different things in life, it is more likely that you are open to trying new foods."

"In one study, those participants who scored above average on openness ate about 4.5 more servings of combined fruit and vegetables per week than their peers who were less open. They also consumed less unhealthy food such as chips," added Professor Spence, author of Gastrophysics : the new science of eating".

However, this is not good news for fans of bitter-tasting foods.

"As the authors of one study put it: 'General bitter taste preferences emerged as strong predictors of Machiavellianism, psychopathy, narcissism, and everyday sadism,'" he wrote.

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Do you like pasta?

You are probably insecure types looking for comfort food (Photo: Giphy)

Here are some things you can learn from your favorite foods:

Pasta

"Pasta is often seen as a comfort food," Professor Spence explained, "Pasta or mac and cheese are particularly popular comfort foods for men when they're looking for comfort food. They also indicate insecurity at times."

"A dish of chicken or meat is served mainly at family meals. These are dishes for sharing and social entertainment. They mainly indicate family and sociable people."

"a very isolated food that indicates a very independent person. Perhaps a dish that suits a more introverted personality."

Pizza lovers are sociable and love to share (Photo: ShutterStock)

Chicken curry

"depends on how spicy it is, but it seems to suit an inquisitive personality - someone who seeks sensation through strong flavors like chilli".

"another meal that promotes collaboration and is therefore more preferred by extroverted and more sociable personalities."

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