The (non)-effect of induced emotion on desire for different types of foods

Extensive prior research has demonstrated the interplay between emotion and eating, but there has not been an empirical examination of the effects of experimentally induced basic emotions on people's desire for foods that vary in caloric density and taste quality. To address this issue, we used validated emotion induction manipulations to elicit feelings of anger, sadness, and happiness in 192 American college students, and then had them rate their desire to consume 16 food items that were either low or high in calories and sweet or savory. Participants desired both low and high calorie sweet foods and high-calorie savory foods over low-calorie savory foods. Some effects on overall desire to eat were also found, but induced emotion had no impact on the type of food desired, even when participants were strongly experiencing the emotion of interest. Our findings disentangle how emotions may influence overall motivation to eat versus desire for particular food types, and highlight the importance of research supporting the null hypothesis.