Why Eating the Same Food Increases People’s Trust And Cooperation

Listenwise helps teachers use stories from public radio n their classrooms. To find more stories and lessons for your middle and high school ELA, social studies, and science classrooms you can sign up for a free Listenwise account! Teaching Strategies for using Listenwise.

Story Description:

New studies into food and eating together have found that when people eat the same food, they feel more connected, leading to greater trust and cooperation. Scientist Ayelet Fishbach has found that in addition to the experience of spending time together and enjoying conversation during meals, people also strengthen connections when they eat the same food. When Fishback gave groups of volunteers the same food to eat while they tried to negotiate an issue together, she found that they came to an agreement nearly twice as quickly as volunteers who were given different foods. Listen to learn more about the relationship between food, trust and cooperation.

Listening Comprehension Questions:

• What effect does eating the same food together have on people’s trust in one another?
• How did Ayelet Fishbach go about studying the impact of eating the same food on trust and cooperation?
• Why do you think eating the same food would make people more likely to trust each other and cooperate?
• How could this knowledge about food be used to help people in important negotiations? How could it be used in advertising products?

Classroom Discussion Themes:

• Have you ever felt closer to a person or culture after eating food with them?
• Do you believe it is important for people to eat together? Why or why not?