Troisi and Gabriel (2011) investigated whether comfort foods can alleviate feelings of loneliness by serving as “social surrogates” that evoke memories of social connections. In their first experiment, participants who consumed comfort food, such as chicken noodle soup, were more likely to complete word fragments with relationship-related words, suggesting that comfort food activates concepts related to social bonds. In the second experiment, participants recalled a conflict with a close other and then wrote about eating either a comfort food or a novel food. The results showed that writing about comfort food reduced feelings of loneliness, but this effect occurred only in individuals with secure attachment styles-those who have positive associations with relationships. The study concluded that comfort foods can provide emotional support by simulating social connections, particularly for people with secure attachment.
Reference:
Troisi, J., & Gabriel, S. (2011). Chicken soup really is good for the soul: “Comfort food” fulfils the need to belong. Psychological Science, 22(6), 747–753. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797611407932
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