US study Hunger makes couples become more aggressive

US study: Hunger makes couples become more aggressive

04/15/2014

According to a US study, hunger couples can become more aggressive. Thus, the aggression between partners increases when their blood sugar level drops. Thus, quarrels, conflicts and perhaps even domestic violence may be partly consequences of hunger. The researchers also used voodoo dolls for their investigations.

Strife and violence may be followed by hunger
Couples should only tackle difficult discussions and disputes with a full stomach. According to a US study, the aggression between partners increases when their blood sugar levels drop. According to the scientists around Brad Bushman of Ohio State University in Columbus, quarrels, conflicts and maybe even domestic violence may be partly the result of hunger. This is what the researcher wrote „Proceedings“ the US National Academy of Sciences. They think that a potential factor for violence in the partnership, which affects millions of people worldwide, can be poor self-regulation.

Partners put needles in voodoo dolls
With the help of voodoo dolls, the scientists had determined the strength of the aggression between the partners. The participants each received a doll with the indication that this would symbolize their partner. They also got 51 needles. Subjects were to drill needles into the doll for a total of three weeks evening after night, the more annoying they were for their partner. The whole thing should happen unobserved by the respective partner. 107 couples participated in the study. All participants had to measure their blood sugar levels in the morning before breakfast and in the evening before going to bed. As the researchers found out, the subjects rammed more needles into their partner dolls the lower their blood sugar levels were.

Looser with loud and unpleasant noises sonicated
In a final game, couples should compete against their partner after three weeks in the lab. The researchers told them that it was about who is the first to press a button when a red square appears on a screen. After each round, the winner decides how long and how loudly the loser plays a mixture of loud and unpleasant noises on a headset, such as the scratching of fingernails on a blackboard, the howling of sirens, or dentist burring sounds. However, the partners, who sat in separate rooms, actually played against a computer that let them win in almost half the cases. The results were similar to those of the first studies, and it was found that there was a clear correlation between average evening evening glans and aggressive behavior. The lower the blood glucose, the longer and louder the noise attack on the partner was.

In English, hunger and anger become too „Hangry“
The scientists explain the connection with a reduced self-control by a sinking blood sugar level. Glucose is a kind of fuel for the brain and for self-control required. For example, studies have shown that with low glucose levels, aggressive impulses are poorly controlled and emotions are difficult to control. Hunger and thus anger should be avoided as much as possible. In addition to the above problems, anger also often causes health problems, such as stomach problems. For the unpleasant mix of hunger and anger, there is even a word in English: „Hangry“. It is composed of hungry and angry. In German maybe „hung dissolute“ suitable as a new word creation. (Sb)