how hunger influences levels of aggression and mood
Hunger and fullness are ways your body identifies how hungry or full you are and helps let you know when to start or stop eating. Skipping meals can oftentimes lead to feelings of irritability and increased aggression. The present study sought to analyze college students’ hunger and determine how it influences their mood and levels of aggression. We hypothesized that higher levels of hunger lead to changes in mood, especially higher levels of aggression. We recruited Westfield State University students through an online survey and measured their self-reported levels of hunger (the Hunger & Fullness Scale; H&FS), aggression (the Buss Perry Aggression Questionnaire; BPAQ) and mood (the Brief Mood Introspection Scale; BMIS). Participants were then shown photos of savory foods and immediately re-evaluated on the H&FS and BMIS. We predicted that students would show higher levels on the BPAQ after viewing the images of savory foods, suggesting that induced hunger created feelings of aggression.