A recent study at Cornell University has concluded that cutting the food of 6-to-10-year-olds has a tendency to make them more mellow. When this age group was fed chicken drumsticks instead of de-boned chicken they were twice as likely to disobey adults and be aggressive towards other children.
Food and Brand Lab, Cornell University
And it’s not just chicken — it’s anything that requires biting, like corn on the cob, apples, and maybe sandwiches? It’s just another example of how our facial expressions and physiology can affect our mood. The researchers think biting food with the front teeth uses the same muscles as grimacing does.
I don’t have a child in that age group, so I’ll just have to experiment on myself. Not that I necessarily want to be better behaved.
May 14, 2014
So, what would happen to children who eat only with say chop sticks or their fingers like in India, and who are also predominantly vegetarian? I think that all these studies are taking place because the labs have funds and do not have subjects to conduct research on. Silly really.
And I am glad that you do not really want to be better behaved.
Daughter Lydia observed I eat a lot using my fingers. And I’m not even from India.
Children who eat only with chopsticks would be mostly chewers, not biters, which is what the study was about. The study has nothing to do with eating with fingers or eating with forks, it’s about biting vs chewing. When you eat with your fingers how big are the pieces? Do you have to bite them to make them easy to chew? I went to an Ethiopian restaurant once where we all ate from a common platter with our fingers. Mostly the food was soft and we just scooped it up. Can’t even remember if we had to chew it much. That was about 25 years ago, and I still remember how much fun it was and what a good mood we were all in when we finished.
I personally am pleased that some people are looking more deeply into the relationship between facial expressions and moods. It’s real, and it’s a subject I’m interested in.
12 elementary children were observed for this 2-day study — Wow, what an exhaustive and conclusive study (just a bit if sarcasm). I wonder how much government funding they had for that little bit of research.
Yes, it was a small study. I think it would be interesting if they looked into it more deeply. What’s the opposite of sarcasm?
Wow… the kids born in this century are already the most entitled bunch that ever existed. Now we’re even going to start cutting up their food for them? I can’t wait until they finish that other upcoming study concerning their bowel movements which will obviously conclude that if we wipe their asses for them they will live ten years longer! 😕
Do you really think kids would rather have their food cut up than to bite it with their teeth? For us the drumsticks were the best part of the chicken. They still are for Andy.
I can’t imagine anyone cutting up fried chicken either. Whether drum sticks, wings, breasts or thighs, that’s the fun of eating chicken, not even considering how good it is. And as a ‘boy child’ I think I would be quite embarrassed to be out at a restaurant and one of my parents cutting up my entree. 🙂
Fritz Perls wrote a book Ego, Hunger and Aggression (one chapter by his wife who he didn’t acknowledge) about the importance of eating in personal formation. (He doesn’t mention drinking.)
I’m afraid I don’t know what that means. Just focusing on the process? Being in the moment?
Good Grief Charlie Brown – what next!
Are the boffins not having so much success with other testing procedures they now have to look at our “eating” habits!!!
They’re not looking at eating habits as much as trying to understand the relationship between facial expressions and emotions. I think it’s a fascinating subject.