Department of Psychology, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China.
Department of Psychology, Soochow University, Suzhou, China.
Appetite. 2021 Jun 1;161:105129. doi: 10.1016/j.appet.2021.105129. Epub 2021 Feb 4.
We conducted two studies on participants from China and the USA to investigate their beliefs about food sharing. In Study 1, the participants were asked to rate the influence of different types of sharing on the interpersonal relationships between two individuals. Compared to sharing non-food material, both groups expected sharing food to exert a more positive influence on the intimacy and mutual trust between the sharer and the recipient. In Study 2A, the participants were asked to rate to which extent it is appropriate to share a certain food with another person. The results revealed that the solid or liquid state and the type of foods influenced both groups of participants' beliefs about whether a food is appropriate for sharing. In Study 2B, the participants were asked to rate the likelihood of ordering certain foods when they were eating alone, eating together, or sharing food with another person in a restaurant scenario. When sharing food with other people, both groups of participants were less likely to order foods that were inappropriate for sharing and more likely to order foods that were appropriate for sharing, thus suggesting the influence of beliefs about food sharing on food choices. Despite some cross-cultural differences in both studies, the results revealed some cross-cultural shared beliefs about food sharing. These findings suggest that people's beliefs regarding the positive influence of food sharing on interpersonal relationships influence food choices and may help explain why foods are shared while eating with others even there is no social obligation to do so.
我们在中国和美国进行了两项研究，以调查参与者对食物分享的看法。在研究 1 中，要求参与者对不同类型的分享对两个人之间人际关系的影响进行评分。与分享非食物材料相比，两个群体都期望分享食物对分享者和接受者之间的亲密关系和相互信任产生更积极的影响。在研究 2A 中，要求参与者对与另一个人分享某种食物的适当程度进行评分。结果表明，固体或液体状态和食物类型影响了两组参与者对食物是否适合分享的看法。在研究 2B 中，要求参与者在独自用餐、一起用餐或在餐厅与他人分享食物的情景下，对某些食物的点单可能性进行评分。当与其他人分享食物时，两组参与者都不太可能点不适合分享的食物，而更有可能点适合分享的食物，这表明对食物分享的看法会影响食物选择。尽管这两项研究存在一些跨文化差异，但结果揭示了一些关于食物分享的跨文化共识。这些发现表明，人们对食物分享对人际关系的积极影响的看法会影响食物选择，并有助于解释为什么人们在与他人一起用餐时会分享食物，即使没有社会义务这样做。
