PsychCrunch · The British Psychological Society Research Digest

Ep 43: Psychology on the Menu

·30 min·2 clips

The hot sauce paradigm measures aggression by giving rejected participants power over an alleged rejector’s food.

1. PsychCrunch’s “Psychology on the Menu” examines psychological research through a meal designed by Dr. Andrea Oskes. 2. Dr. John Sutton hosts Dr. Andrea Oskes, a food writer and senior lecturer in psychology at Middlesex University London, whose book is The Kitchen Shrink. 3. The episode asks how food reveals attachment, identity, relationships, memory, and cultural experience. 4. Oskes says shared hummus, crudités, tortilla chips, salsa, and soup can relate to empathy, trust, cooperation, and belonging. 5. Oskes explains that secure, anxious, and avoidant attachment styles affect attitudes toward sharing food, tables, cooking spaces, and kitchens. 6. Sutton connects kitchen boundaries with Smithy’s refusal to share dishes in Gavin and Stacey. 7. Oskes describes “meat attachment” as a measurable relationship involving positive bonds, trust, and a desire to maintain closeness to meat. 8. One study discussed by Oskes found that attachment to meat can hinder changes in consumption habits because familiar foods are trusted more than newer alternatives. 9. Oskes describes the “patio daddio” research term for barbecue as a traditionally masculine food space. 10. A sourdough-making study found increased alertness and excitement, while watching sourdough preparation on video did not produce the same benefits. 11. Oskes explains the hot sauce paradigm, in which rejected participants distribute sauce to an alleged rejector’s food as an aggression measure. 12. Rejection-sensitive participants are described as more likely to lace an alleged enemy’s food with hot sauce. 13. Oskes uses French fries to explain dynamic contrast between a crunchy exterior and creamy potato interior. 14. Burger King’s battered fries are discussed as an example of increasing texture contrast and salt. 15. A randomized controlled trial found that slow-tempo music affected coffee-shop repurchase intentions on weekdays and customer lingering on weekends. 16. Oskes compares regular dinner timing and location with the therapy frame of meeting a client at a set time and place. 17. Comfort food research is presented as evidence that meaningful attachment links, rather than only fat or sugar, can make food comforting. 18. A strawberry mousse study found that plate shape and color influenced perceived sweetness, with a round white plate producing the reported result. 19. Food psychology readers interested in attachment, taste, and social rituals will find concrete studies. 20. Listeners seeking purely culinary recipes or food reviews may prefer another episode.

As heard by us

A kebab, hot sauce, and chips become a sharp, grounded lesson in taste, identity, and behaviour.

Psych Crunch turns a planned meal into a compact study of taste, identity, and aggression. Dr. John Sutton and Dr. Andrea Oskes keep the ideas anchored in a kebab, hot sauce, and chips, which gives the psychology a useful everyday texture.

Read the full review in PlayNext →

Why you'd press play

You can turn a kebab, hot sauce, and chips into a psychology lesson while the meal is still warm.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

Listen to the show on

Apple Podcasts Spotify

Play clips from this episode More from PsychCrunch