Taste Preferences Reveal Your Personality

Highlights

Bitter taste preferences are associated with traits related to the darker side of personality.
Prenatal and early taste experiences are critical in shaping taste preferences, possibly throughout the lifespan.
Sweet taste experiences are related to personality processes and, in particular, those bitter taste experiences are causally linked to hostile thoughts and behavior.

Taste preferences are related to personality traits of a person. Those who prefer food that is sweet are more friendly and are agreeable. Whereas, those who like bitter taste are psychopaths.

A group of researchers from Austria conducted a study at Innsbruck University and found that those who enjoy bitter flavors may have more than a few undesirable traits like sadism, narcissism, psychoticism and Machiavellianism.

Loss of Taste - Symptom Evaluation
Symptom of loss of taste usually occurs in combination with loss of smell and can be complete loss or partial loss of taste. It can also be temporary or permanent, though the latter is very rare.

‘Sweet taste experiences are related to personality processes and, in particular, those bitter taste experiences are causally linked to hostile thoughts and behavior.’

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Machiavellianism in psychology refers to a personality trait which sees a person so focused on their own interests they will manipulate, deceive, and exploit others to achieve their goals. Machiavellianism is one of the traits in what is called the ’Dark Triad’, the other two being narcissism and psychopathy.

The study of 953 people involved individuals ranking different foods and drinks on a six-point scale. Food featured in the study had bitter, sour, salty and sweet tastes. The participants also answered a personality-based questionnaire which measured their levels of emotional stability and "tendency towards everyday sadism."

The consequent findings showed that those who preferred bitter tasting food and drink also showed more antisocial tendencies.

Smell and Taste Disorders - Diagnosis - Treatment - Reference
Smell and taste disorders are common chemosensory disorders that are capable of affecting an individual’s quality of life.

The study was conducted by Dr Christian Sagioglou and Dr Tobias Greitemeyer, the findings said: "Supertasting, that is, having a high sensitivity to bitter compounds, has been consistently linked to increased emotionality in humans and rats. Bitter taste experiences were shown to elicit harsher moral judgments and interpersonal hostility." Those who enjoyed bitter foods and drinks showed more negative personality traits like narcissism, sadism. So next time you order a gin, some dark chocolate or a nice black coffee, remember what it reveals about you.

Taste Buds in the Stomach

Burning Mouth Syndrome - Causes, Symptoms, Diagnosis, Treatment, Prevention
Burning mouth syndrome occurs in adults over 40 years of age where they may feel burning sensation in the mouth but there is no clear cause or treatment.

Growing evidence suggests that sensory cells which enable us to taste sweetness, bitterness and umami are not limited to the tongue alone. These so-called Trpm5-expressing chemosensory cells are also found in the respiratory system, digestive tract and other parts of the body.

Although their precise function in areas other than the mouth is not fully known, these sensory cells are thought to play an important "gatekeeper" role, protecting the body against bacteria and potentially harmful substances.

Bitter Taste Receptors Found on Human Heart
Scientists found the presence of smell and taste receptors on the human heart.

Reference

Christina Sagiogloua and Tobias Greitemeyer. ‘Individual differences in bitter taste preferences are associated with antisocial personality 7 traits.’Appetite (2015). doi: 10.1016/ j.appet.2015.09.031.

Source-Medindia