University of New South Wales researchers report that we're more likely to make a social blunder when we're tired or stressed. The interesting thing about the study is how the results were gathered. Seventy-one subjects, under either high or low social pressure conditions, were asked to put a chicken foot in their mouth. From the American Psychological Society:
People in the high-pressure group were served the foot by a Chinese woman who described it as the national dish of China and her personal favorite, while those in the low-pressure group were served the foot by a non-Chinese woman who had said only that it was Chinese food.
Before the experiment, participants ability to hold their tongues — called inhibitory ability — was measured with a test that assessed their ability to suppress irrelevant or inappropriate thoughts.
"People who responded most negatively to the chicken foot dish under high social pressure turned out to be those who also performed worst on the inhibitory ability test," von Hippel said. "They were much more likely to make a disapproving face and a negative statement such as: 'That's bloody revolting!'"
