Tender food, tender hearts : the metaphorical mapping of hard-soft orosensory signals to interpersonal trust and prosocial tendencies
Prior research has revealed that flavors (sweetness) may metaphorically influence social judgements and behaviors (interpersonal ‘sweetness’). Given the inherently social nature of eating, other food related sensory signals beyond flavor may be conceptually mapped to social cognition and behavior. H...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Other Authors: | |
| Format: | Journal Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
2020
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| Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/10356/142950 |
| _version_ | 1811689006607368192 |
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| author | Cheon, Bobby Kyungbeom Tan, Kah Min Lee, Li Ling |
| author2 | School of Social Sciences |
| author_facet | School of Social Sciences Cheon, Bobby Kyungbeom Tan, Kah Min Lee, Li Ling |
| author_sort | Cheon, Bobby Kyungbeom |
| collection | NTU |
| description | Prior research has revealed that flavors (sweetness) may metaphorically influence social judgements and behaviors (interpersonal ‘sweetness’). Given the inherently social nature of eating, other food related sensory signals beyond flavor may be conceptually mapped to social cognition and behavior. Here we tested the hypothesis that oral processing of foods with soft (vs. hard) textures may metaphorically facilitate (vs. inhibit) social behaviors conceptually associated with ‘tenderness’ or ‘soft-heartedness’. Two studies examined the influence of imagined (Study 1) and actual (Study 2) oral processing of soft (vs. hard foods) on prosocial tendencies. Study 1 revealed that greater magnitude of sensory characteristics associated with imagined consumption of a hard food (i.e., dryness) was predictive of decreased interpersonal trust. Using actual food consumption in an interpersonal context, Study 2 demonstrated increased interpersonal trust and charitable donation of time after oral processing of soft (vs. hard) food and suggested that this effect is a result of enhanced trust following consumption of soft food rather than suppression of trust following consumption of hard food. Although effects were modest, these findings provide initial suggestions that orosensory metaphors that shape social cognition are not limited to flavors (e.g., sweetness, spiciness), and that diverse properties of food may influence patterns of sociality. |
| first_indexed | 2024-10-01T05:41:14Z |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | ntu-10356/142950 |
| institution | Nanyang Technological University |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-10-01T05:41:14Z |
| publishDate | 2020 |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | ntu-10356/1429502020-07-15T06:09:08Z Tender food, tender hearts : the metaphorical mapping of hard-soft orosensory signals to interpersonal trust and prosocial tendencies Cheon, Bobby Kyungbeom Tan, Kah Min Lee, Li Ling School of Social Sciences Singapore Institute for Clinical Sciences, A*Star Social sciences::Psychology Food Texture Orosensory Processing Prior research has revealed that flavors (sweetness) may metaphorically influence social judgements and behaviors (interpersonal ‘sweetness’). Given the inherently social nature of eating, other food related sensory signals beyond flavor may be conceptually mapped to social cognition and behavior. Here we tested the hypothesis that oral processing of foods with soft (vs. hard) textures may metaphorically facilitate (vs. inhibit) social behaviors conceptually associated with ‘tenderness’ or ‘soft-heartedness’. Two studies examined the influence of imagined (Study 1) and actual (Study 2) oral processing of soft (vs. hard foods) on prosocial tendencies. Study 1 revealed that greater magnitude of sensory characteristics associated with imagined consumption of a hard food (i.e., dryness) was predictive of decreased interpersonal trust. Using actual food consumption in an interpersonal context, Study 2 demonstrated increased interpersonal trust and charitable donation of time after oral processing of soft (vs. hard) food and suggested that this effect is a result of enhanced trust following consumption of soft food rather than suppression of trust following consumption of hard food. Although effects were modest, these findings provide initial suggestions that orosensory metaphors that shape social cognition are not limited to flavors (e.g., sweetness, spiciness), and that diverse properties of food may influence patterns of sociality. Accepted version 2020-07-15T05:36:49Z 2020-07-15T05:36:49Z 2018 Journal Article Cheon, B. K., Tan, K. M., & Lee, L. L. (2019). Tender food, tender hearts : the metaphorical mapping of hard-soft orosensory signals to interpersonal trust and prosocial tendencies. Food Quality and Preference, 71, 242-249. doi:10.1016/j.foodqual.2018.07.006 0950-3293 https://hdl.handle.net/10356/142950 10.1016/j.foodqual.2018.07.006 2-s2.0-85050581059 71 242 249 en Food Quality and Preference © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. This paper was published in Food Quality and Preference and is made available with permission of Elsevier Ltd. application/pdf |
| spellingShingle | Social sciences::Psychology Food Texture Orosensory Processing Cheon, Bobby Kyungbeom Tan, Kah Min Lee, Li Ling Tender food, tender hearts : the metaphorical mapping of hard-soft orosensory signals to interpersonal trust and prosocial tendencies |
| title | Tender food, tender hearts : the metaphorical mapping of hard-soft orosensory signals to interpersonal trust and prosocial tendencies |
| title_full | Tender food, tender hearts : the metaphorical mapping of hard-soft orosensory signals to interpersonal trust and prosocial tendencies |
| title_fullStr | Tender food, tender hearts : the metaphorical mapping of hard-soft orosensory signals to interpersonal trust and prosocial tendencies |
| title_full_unstemmed | Tender food, tender hearts : the metaphorical mapping of hard-soft orosensory signals to interpersonal trust and prosocial tendencies |
| title_short | Tender food, tender hearts : the metaphorical mapping of hard-soft orosensory signals to interpersonal trust and prosocial tendencies |
| title_sort | tender food tender hearts the metaphorical mapping of hard soft orosensory signals to interpersonal trust and prosocial tendencies |
| topic | Social sciences::Psychology Food Texture Orosensory Processing |
| url | https://hdl.handle.net/10356/142950 |
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