Effects of Spicy Food on Sense of Fairness: Mediating Effects of Aggression and Pathogen Avoidance

Abstract

Spicy food consumption is prevalent worldwide, yet its psychological and behavioral impacts remain underexplored compared to basic tastes like sweet, sour, salty, bitter, and umami. The present research aimed to investigate the effects of spicy food preferences and consumption on individuals' sense of fairness, with aggression and pathogen avoidance considered as potential mediators. Two behavioral studies using the Ultimatum Game were conducted to examine these relationships. Study 1 found that individuals with a preference for spicy food were more likely to reject unfair offers and accept fair offers, mediated by trait aggression and trait pathogen avoidance, respectively. In Study 2, immediate consumption of spicy food led to a higher rejection rate of unfair offers compared to non-spicy food consumption, an effect mediated by increased state aggression. However, no significant differences in fair offer rejection rates were observed between the spicy and non-spicy conditions, and no significant mediation effects of situational pathogen avoidance were detected. These findings suggest that spicy food enhances sensitivity to unfairness—likely by elevating an individual's acceptance threshold—an effect primarily driven by aggression. This research provides novel insights into how sensory experiences shape social decision-making and fairness judgments.

Keywords

aggression / behavioral immune system / pathogen avoidance / sense of fairness / spicy food

References

[1] Ackerman, J. M., S. E. Hill, and D. R. Murray. 2018. “The Behavioral Immune System: Current Concerns and Future Directions.” Social and Personality Psychology Compass 12: 12371. https://doi.org/10.1111/spc3.12371.

[2] Ackerman, J. M., J. M. Tybur, and A. D. Blackwell. 2021. “What Role Does Pathogen-Avoidance Psychology Play in Pandemics?” Trends in Cognitive Sciences 25: 177–186. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2020.11.008.

[3] Batra, R. K., T. Ghoshal, and R. Raghunathan. 2017. “You Are What You Eat: An Empirical Investigation of the Relationship Between Spicy Food and Aggressive Cognition.” Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 71: 42–48. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2017.01.007.

[4] Batres, C., and D. I. Perrett. 2020. “Pathogen Disgust Sensitivity Changes According to the Perceived Harshness of the Environment.” Cognition and Emotion 34: 377–383. https://doi.org/10.1080/02699931.2019.1612735.

[5] Bègue, L., V. Bricout, J. Boudesseul, R. Shankland, and A. A. Duke. 2015. “Some Like It Hot: Testosterone Predicts Laboratory Eating Behavior of Spicy Food.” Physiology & Behavior 139: 375–377. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physbeh.2014.11.061.

[6] Brenner, C. J., and Y. Inbar. 2015. “Disgust Sensitivity Predicts Political Ideology and Policy Attitudes in The Netherlands.” European Journal of Social Psychology 45: 27–38. https://doi.org/10.1002/ejsp.2072.

[7] Bromham, L., A. Skeels, H. Schneemann, R. Dinnage, and X. Hua. 2021. “There Is Little Evidence That Spicy Food in Hot Countries Is an Adaptation to Reducing Infection Risk.” Nature Human Behaviour 5: 878–891. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-020-01039-8.

[8] Burnham, T. C. 2007. “High-Testosterone Men Reject Low Ultimatum Game Offers.” Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 274: 2327–2330. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2007.0546.

[9] Byrnes, N. K., and J. E. Hayes. 2016. “Behavioral Measures of Risk Tasking, Sensation Seeking and Sensitivity to Reward May Reflect Different Motivations for Spicy Food Liking and Consumption.” Appetite 103: 411–422. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2016.04.037.

[10] Carré, J. M., C. M. McCormick, and A. R. Hariri. 2011. “The Social Neuroendocrinology of Human Aggression.” Psychoneuroendocrinology 36: 935–944. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2011.02.001.

[11] Chen, B., and L. Chang. 2012. “Bitter Struggle for Survival: Evolved Bitterness Embodiment of Survival Motivation.” Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 48: 579–582. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2011.11.005.

[12] Chen, D., S. Zhang, Q. Wu, and M. Ren. 2024. “You See What You Eat: Effects of Spicy Food on Emotion Perception.” Current Psychology 43: 3275–3291. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-023-04585-2.

[13] Cooper, H., and M. Findley. 1982. “Expected Effect Sizes: Estimates for Statistical Power Analysis in Social Psychology.” Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin 8, no. 1: 168–173. https://doi.org/10.1177/014616728281026.

[14] Culpepper, P. D., J. Havlíček, J. D. Leongómez, and S. C. Roberts. 2018. “Visually Activating Pathogen Disgust: A New Instrument for Studying the Behavioral Immune System.” Frontiers in Psychology 9: 1397. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01397.

[15] Duncan, L. A., M. Schaller, and J. H. Park. 2009. “Perceived Vulnerability to Disease: Development and Validation of a 15-Item Self-Report Instrument.” Personality and Individual Differences 47, no. 6: 541–546. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2009.05.001.

[16] Evans, S. C., A. R. Karlovich, S. Khurana, et al. 2024. “Evidence Base Update on the Assessment of Irritability, Anger, and Aggression in Youth.” Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology 53: 277–308. https://doi.org/10.1080/15374416.2023.2292041.

[17] Fehr, E., and K. M. Schmidt. 2006. “The Economics of Fairness, Reciprocity and Altruism–Experimental Evidence and New Theories.” In Handbook of the Economics of Giving, Altruism and Reciprocity, edited by S. C. Kolm and J. M. Ythier, vol. 1, 615–691. Elsevier. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1574-0714(06)01008-6.

[18] Harlé, K. M., and A. G. Sanfey. 2010. “Effects of Approach and Withdrawal Motivation on Interactive Economic Decisions.” Cognition & Emotion 24: 1456–1465. https://doi.org/10.1080/02699930903510220.

[19] Hayes, A. F., and K. J. Preacher. 2014. “Statistical Mediation Analysis With a Multicategorical Independent Variable.” British Journal of Mathematical and Statistical Psychology 67: 451–470. https://doi.org/10.1111/bmsp.12028.

[20] Hlay, J. K., G. Albert, C. Batres, et al. 2021. “The Evolution of Disgust for Pathogen Detection and Avoidance.” Scientific Reports 11: 13468. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-91712-3.

[21] Ji, T., Y. Ding, H. Deng, M. Jing, and Q. Jiang. 2013. “Does ‘Spicy Girl’ Have a Peppery Temper? The Metaphorical Link Between Spicy Tastes and Anger.” Social Behavior and Personality: An International Journal 41: 1379–1386. https://doi.org/10.2224/sbp.2013.41.8.1379.

[22] Jost, J. T., and A. C. Kay. 2010. “Social Justice: History, Theory, and Research.” In Handbook of Social Psychology, edited by S. T. Fiske, D. T. Gilbert, and G. Lindzey, vol. 2, 5th ed., 1122–1165. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. https://doi.org/10.1002/9780470561119.socpsy002030.

[23] Kempthorne, J. C., and J. A. Terrizzi 2021. “The Behavioral Immune System and Conservatism as Predictors of Disease-Avoidant Attitudes During the COVID-19 Pandemic.” Personality and Individual Differences 178: 110857. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2021.110857.

[24] Krebs, J. R. 2009. “The Gourmet Ape: Evolution and Human Food Preferences.” American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 90: 707S–711S. https://doi.org/10.3945/ajcn.2009.27462B.

[25] Li, X., M. R. Phillips, Y. Zhang, Y. Niu, Y. Tong, and S. J. Yang. 2011. “Development, Reliability and Validity of the Chinese Version of Buss & Perry Aggression Questionnaire.” Chinese Journal of Nervous and Mental Diseases 37: 607–613. https://doi.org/10.3969/j.issn.1002-0152.2011.10.010.

[26] Liu, C., J. W. Chai, and R. Yu. 2016. “Negative Incidental Emotions Augment Fairness Sensitivity.” Scientific Reports 6: 24892. https://doi.org/10.1038/srep24892.

[27] Liuzza, M. T., J. K. Olofsson, S. Cancino-Montecinos, and T. Lindholm. 2019. “Body Odor Disgust Sensitivity Predicts Moral Harshness Toward Moral Violations of Purity.” Frontiers in Psychology 10: 458. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00458.

[28] Ludy, M.-J., and R. D. Mattes. 2012. “Comparison of Sensory, Physiological, Personality, and Cultural Attributes in Regular Spicy Food Users and Non-Users.” Appetite 58: 19–27. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2011.09.018.

[29] Makhanova, A., E. A. Plant, and J. K. Maner. 2021. “Capturing Fluctuations in Pathogen Avoidance: The Situational Pathogen Avoidance Scale.” Evolutionary Psychological Science 7, no. 1: 21–38. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40806-020-00256-8.

[30] Meier, B. P., S. K. Moeller, M. Riemer-Peltz, and M. D. Robinson. 2012. “Sweet Taste Preferences and Experiences Predict Prosocial Inferences, Personalities, and Behaviors.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 102: 163–174. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0025253.

[31] Murray, D. R., and M. Schaller. 2016. “The Behavioral Immune System: Implications for Social Cognition, Social Interaction, and Social Influence.” Advances in Experimental Social Psychology 53: 75–129. https://doi.org/10.1016/bs.aesp.2015.09.002.

[32] Padilla, M. A., and J. Divers. 2016. “A Comparison of Composite Reliability Estimators: Coefficient Omega Confidence Intervals in the Current Literature.” Educational and Psychological Measurement 76: 436–453. https://doi.org/10.1177/0013164415593776.

[33] Prokop, P., and J. Fančovičová. 2011. “Preferences for Spicy Foods and Disgust of Ectoparasites Are Associated With Reported Health in Humans.” Psihologija 44: 281–293. https://doi.org/10.2298/PSI1104281P.

[34] Rubio-Garay, F., M. A. Carrasco, and P. J. Amor. 2016. “Aggression, Anger and Hostility: Evaluation of Moral Disengagement as a Mediational Process.” Scandinavian Journal of Psychology 57: 129–135. https://doi.org/10.1111/sjop.12270.

[35] Sagioglou, C., and T. Greitemeyer. 2014. “Bitter Taste Causes Hostility.” Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin 40: 1589–1597. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167214552792.

[36] Schwambergová, D., Š. Kaňková, J. Třebická Fialová, J. Hlaváčová, and J. Havlíček. 2023. “Pandemic Elevates Sensitivity to Moral Disgust but Not Pathogen Disgust.” Scientific Reports 13: 8206. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-35375-2.

[37] Seip, E. C., W. W. Van Dijk, and M. Rotteveel. 2014. “Anger Motivates Costly Punishment of Unfair Behavior.” Motivation and Emotion 38: 578–588. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11031-014-9395-4.

[38] Shang, J., K. Zhong, and R. Shi. 2025. “Effect of Voice Attractiveness and Group Identity in an Ultimatum Game.” PsyCh Journal 14: 460–462. https://doi.org/10.1002/pchj.70013.

[39] Spence, C. 2018. “Why Is Piquant/Spicy Food So Popular?” International Journal of Gastronomy and Food Science 12: 16–21. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijgfs.2018.04.002.

[40] Tooby, J., and I. DeVore. 1987. “The Reconstruction of Hominid Behavioral Evolution Through Strategic Modeling.” In The Evolutionary of Human Behavior, edited by W. G. Kinzey, 183–237. State University of New York Press.

[41] Vi, C. T., and M. Obrist. 2018. “Sour Promotes Risk-Taking: An Investigation Into the Effect of Taste on Risk-Taking Behaviour in Humans.” Scientific Reports 8: 7987. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-26164-3.

[42] Wen, Z. L., and B. J. Ye. 2011. “Evaluating Test Reliability: From Coefficient Alpha to Internal Consistency Reliability.” Acta Psychologica Sinica 43, no. 7: 821–829.

[43] Wormley, A. S., and M. E. W. Varnum. 2023. “How Is the Behavioral Immune System Related to Hygiene Behaviors?” Current Research in Ecological and Social Psychology 4: 100081. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cresp.2022.100081.

[44] Wu, B.-P., and L. Chang. 2012. “The Social Impact of Pathogen Threat: How Disease Salience Influences Conformity.” Personality and Individual Differences 53: 50–54. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2012.02.023.

[45] Wu, Q., C. Tan, B. Wang, and P. Zhou. 2015. “Behavioral Immune System and Ingroup Derogation: The Effects of Infectious Diseases on Ingroup Derogation Attitudes.” PLoS One 10, no. 3: e0122794. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0122794.

[46] Wu, Q., H. Wu, Q. Zhou, D. Chen, S. Lu, and L. Li. 2022. “The Ancient Behavioral Immune System Shapes the Medical-Seeking Behavior in Contemporary Society.” Acta Psychologica Sinica 54: 931–950. https://doi.org/10.3724/SP.J.1041.2022.00931.

[47] Wu, T., F. Fu, Y. Zhang, and L. Wang. 2013. “Adaptive Role Switching Promotes Fairness in Networked Ultimatum Game.” Scientific Reports 3: 1550. https://doi.org/10.1038/srep01550.

[48] Yang, H., W. Wan, F. Zhang, N. Yang, and Q. Wu. 2025. “Disease Prevention Measures Affect the Ideal Mate Standards by Altering the Activation of Behavioral Immune System.” Scandinavian Journal of Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1111/sjop.70014.

[49] Zhang, X., Y. Li, X. Chao, and Y. Li. 2023. “Sourness Impacts Envy and Jealousy in Chinese Culture.” Psychological Research 87: 96–107. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00426-022-01652-4.

[50] Zheng, Y., Z. Yang, C. Jin, Y. Qi, and X. Liu. 2017. “The Influence of Emotion on Fairness-Related Decision Making: A Critical Review of Theories and Evidence.” Frontiers in Psychology 8: 1592. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01592.

RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS

2025 The Author(s). PsyCh Journal published by Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences and John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.