When you're in a social situation--a party, say, or another kind of get-together--are you the person that tries to make everyone feel at-ease and comfortable?
According to a new study by Case Western Reserve University, if you're a people-pleaser--someone who wants to make people around them feel comfortable and happy--you're more likely to overeat in social situations. Like, you'll end up trying to match what they're eating, in the same amounts, whether you're hungry or not.
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About 100 college students filled out a questionnaire about whether or not they were people-pleasers (putting others' needs before before their own and worrying about hurting other people). After they filled out the paperwork, an actor (who was pretending to be a participant) ate from a dish of M&Ms and offered the bowl to the student. Those students who exhibited high [people-pleasing characteristics] usually took more chocolate.
And another study observed pairs of women eating together. The researchers found that the women took bites when their dining partners took a bite, matching bite-by-bite.
Does any of that sound familiar? It does to me. I'm mostly guilty of overeating in social situations that are awkward and making too big a deal of how great the meatloaf is or whatever (I don't really like meatloaf).
Do you think you're a people-pleaser? Does it affect the way you eat in social situations?
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