ArticlePsyCh journal2025
Effects of Spicy Food on Sense of Fairness: Mediating Effects of Aggression and Pathogen Avoidance.
Article in PsyCh journal, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
3 citing papers in PubMed.
- Honey as Natural Alternative to Sucrose in Biquinho-Type Pepper and Passion Fruit Mixed Jellies: Enhancing Quality and Dynamic Sensory Experience.Foods (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Systemic inflammation as a mediator between food preferences and metabolic syndrome: a cross-sectional study.Frontiers in nutrition · 2026Article
- Effects of Spicy Food on Sense of Fairness: Mediating Effects of Aggression and Pathogen Avoidance.PsyCh journal · 2025Article
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Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
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.
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Registered trials
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