For those who get angry when they miss out on lunch, it may be the perfect excuse: researchers have confirmed that a lack of food makes otherwise bearable people “angry”.
In one of the first studies to explore how hunger affects emotions (情绪) as people go about their daily lives, psychologists found that the more hungry people felt, the more angry - or hangry-they became.
The study came about after Prof. Viren Swami, a social psychologist at Anglia Ruskin University, was told - on more than one occasion - that he was hangry and should do something about it. The challenge left him wondering if being hangry was a real phenomenon (现象).
Working with researchers in Austria and Malaysia, Swami recruited (招募) 64 adults aged 18 to 60 to record their emotions and feelings of hunger five times a day for three weeks. While the relationship between hunger and emotions has been studied in labs, the volunteers monitored their feelings as they went about their daily routines. Swami found being hangry is a real thing.
The study does not propose any solutions, but Swami believes that being able to recognize and label the emotion can itself be of help. “A lot of the time, we might be aware of what we are feeling but not understand the cause of it. If we can label it, we are better able to do something about it,” he said.
Researchers have a number of guesses that aim to explain why hunger can take charge of our emotions. One is based on studies that suggest low blood sugar increases impulsivity (冲动), anger and aggression. But it is not clear whether such loss of self-control can arise from small drops in blood sugar. Another proposes that when people are hungry, they are more likely to see the world through angry eyes.
Regardless of the mechanism, Swami believes the study raises a serious point: children who go hungry to school are less likely to learn effectively, and more likely to have behavioral problems, so ensuring pupils are properly fed must be a priority. “It’s really important to be able to identify emotions like being hangry so we can reduce the negative effects,” he said.
12. What caused Prof. Viren Swami to do the study?
A.His competition with his colleagues. |
B.His academic and research pursuits. |
C.The biggest challenge in psychology. |
D.The fact that he might suffer from hangry. |
13. What can we know about the study?
A.Its importance is beyond doubt. |
B.It put forward some practical solutions. |
C.Its participants included children and adults. |
D.It explained why people could control their emotions. |
14. What can we infer from the last paragraph?
A.We’d better encourage children to stay positive. |
B.It’s important to help children get rid of negative emotions. |
C.Children going hungry to school are more likely to get low scores. |
D.Educators should pay more attention to children’s learning methods. |
15. Where can you read the text probably?
A.In a diary. | B.In a biology book |
C.In a novel. | D.In a science magazine. |