When We’re Hungry, We Remain Surprisingly Helpful And Co-operative

“You wouldn’t like me when I’m angry”: for the more mild-mannered among us, Bruce Banner’s famous catchphrase may not resonate. But add some hunger — “you wouldn’t like me when I’m hangry” — and many of us can start to relate. Being hungry doesn’t feel good, and acute hunger has also been linked to an increase in self-interest and a decrease in helping behaviour.

But this isn’t always the case. In a new paper, researchers find that acute hunger doesn’t always have an impact on prosociality — even though people strongly believe it does. Continue reading →