Shocker. I could have told you that without the study. A lot of us on the IFWT team are on our get-right-for-the-summer plan….Tat and Funk are even on a no sugar/no carbs thing which I’ve been trying with them for the past week and I kind of want to punch somebody LOL! This is not easy! In a study published in the Journal of Consumer Research, 4 experiments show “that exerting self-control makes people more likely to behave aggressively toward others and people on diets are known to be irritable and quick to anger.”
In the first study, people who chose an apple instead of a chocolate bar were more likely to choose movies with anger and revenge themes than milder movies.
In the second, participants who exerted financial restraint by choosing a gift certificate for groceries over one for a spa service showed more interest in looking at angry faces rather than at fearful ones.
In a third, dieters had more favourable opinions toward a public policy message that used an anger-inducing appeal – if funds are not increased for police training, more criminals will escape prison – than they did toward a sad message.
Lastly, participants who chose a healthy snack over a tastier less-healthy one were more irritated by a marketer’s message that came across as dictatorial.
The study authors said of their experiment:
“We set out to examine whether exerting self-control can indeed lead to a wide range of angry behaviours and preferences subsequently, even in situations where such behaviours are quite subtle.”
In effect, the authors wrote:
“Public policy-makers need to be more aware of the potential negative emotions resulting from encouraging the public to exert more self control in daily choices.”
