Biting versus chewing: eating style and social aggression in children.
Does biting food lead to aggressive behavior? An experimental study is reported where children ages 6-10 (n = 12) were served chicken either on-the-bone or pre-cut in bite-size pieces. When children ate on-the-bone chicken, they exhibited more aggressive behavior than pre-cut, boneless chicken. For example, children were more likely to violate the counselor's instructions by leaving the eating area after eating on-the-bone chicken compared to kids who ate pre-cut chicken. These findings suggest a connection between how children eat and how they behave. This could have implications for developmental psychologists as well as for educators and parents.
Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management, Cornell University, USA. Electronic address: foodandbrandlab@cornell.edu.
Brian
B
Wansink
London Metropolitan University, United Kingdom. Electronic address: francesca.zampollo@gmail.com.
Francesca
F
Zampollo
Wageningen University and Research Center Netherlands. Electronic address: guido.camps@wur.nl.
Guido
G
Camps
Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, USA. Electronic address: mshimiz@siue.edu.
Mitsuru
M
Shimizu
D000374:Aggression; D002648:Child; D002652:Child Behavior; D004435:Eating / Q000523:psychology*; D005247:Feeding Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008409:Mastication; D012919:Social Behavior
Aggression; Eating behavior; Facial feedback hypothesis; Food choice