Appetite 46 (2006) 332336

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Everyday mood and emotions after eating a chocolate bar or an apple

Michael Macht *, Dorothee Dettmer
Department of Psychology, University of Wurzburg, Marcusstr. 9-11, 97070 Wurzburg, Germany
Received 7 September 2005; received in revised form 11 January 2006; accepted 12 January 2006

Abstract
Emotional changes after eating chocolate were examined in everyday life. Thirty-seven healthy, normal-weight women ate a chocolate bar, an
apple or nothing and rated their subjective state 5, 30, 60 and 90 min after eating. Both chocolate and the apple reduced hunger, elevated mood and
increased activation, but the effects of the chocolate were stronger. Eating chocolate was also followed by joy and, in some women, by guilt. Guilt
responders experienced less intense positive emotions. Whereas positive emotional responses appear to be due to sensory pleasure and its
anticipation and may also be related to reduced hunger, guilt responses are probably induced by negative food-related cognitions.
q 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Chocolate; Mood; Emotion; Activation; Guilt; Hunger; Fruit intake; Everyday life

Introduction
Affective states appear to be closely linked with chocolate
consumption both as antecedents and consequences. Craving,
namely an intense desire to eat a particular food, frequently
precedes intake of chocolate (Hill & Heaten-Brown, 1994) and
has been studied extensively (e.g. Gibson & Desmond, 1999;
Michener & Rozin, 1994; Willner et al., 1998). Contrastingly,
the evidence on chocolates emotional effects in everyday life
is sparse. A field experiment demonstrated increased tension
and reduced tiredness 1 h after consumption of a sugar snack
(Thayer, 1987), but did not assess mood or specific emotions
such as sadness and joy. A diary study indicated that the
emotional effects of chocolate are not necessarily positive, at
least in overweight persons who felt that they were addicted
to chocolate and who scored higher than controls on measures
related to disordered eating (Macdiarmid & Hetherington,
1995). These persons reported a feeling of guilt, but no positive
emotions after eating chocolate. It is open to question which
positive and negative emotional changes are elicited by eating
chocolate in healthy, normal-weight persons in their natural
environment.
It also remains unclear how chocolate-induced emotional
changes are mediated. Sensory pleasure (for an overview:
Rozin, 1999), hunger reduction (Gibson & Desmond, 1999),
* Corresponding author.
E-mail address: macht@psychologie.uni-wuerzburg.de (M. Macht).

0195-6663/$ - see front matter q 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.appet.2006.01.014

and activation induced by stimulating ingredients of cocoa

(Rogers & Smit, 2000) are discussed as possible mediators.
Time of occurrence may be a feature that distinguishes
between them: pleasure due to stimulation of the senses should
occur shortly before, during and immediately after eating,
hunger reduction and psycho-pharmacological activation some
time later.
The present study examined the effects of eating a chocolate
bar vs. eating an apple (a food that is considered as a healthy
alternative to sweets for snacking in everyday life) on a variety
of positive and negative emotions in healthy women in their
natural environment. The measures included mood, activation
level, specific emotions as well as motivation to eat, and were
tracked over time.
Methods
Participants
Thirty-seven female German subjects between 19 and 30
years of age (MZ22, SDZ2.8) and with a mean body mass
index (BMI) of 21.6 (SDZ1.8, range 1925) participated
voluntarily. They were recruited from psychology courses at
the university. Dietary restraint (MZ2.7, SDZ0.8), emotional
eating (MZ2.8, SDZ0.7) and external eating (MZ3.4, SDZ
0.7) were assessed by the Dutch eating behavior questionnaire
(DEBQ), personality was assessed by the NEO-FFI (Neuroticism, Extraversion, OpennessFive Factor Inventory, Costa
& McRae, 1992; neuroticism: MZ2.8, SDZ0.5, extraversion:
MZ2.5, SDZ0.5, openness: MZ2.8, SDZ0.5, agreeableness:

M. Macht, D. Dettmer / Appetite 46 (2006) 332336

MZ2.7, SDZ0.4, conscientiousness: MZ2.5, SDZ0.6).

Eating habits and personality measures corresponded well
with average values of the German female population, apart
from external eating, which was slightly higher in the present
sample (Korner, Geyer, & Brahler, 2002; van Strien, Frijters,
Bergers, & Defares, 1986). Nine participants were in the first,
eight in the second, 11 in the third, and nine in the fourth
quarter of their menstrual cycle. The mean score (MZ41.9,
SDZ21.9) of the craving subscale of the attitudes to chocolate
questionnaire was below the 45 percentile of the normative
data given by Benton, Greenfield, and Morgan (1998).
Design and procedure
The effects of foods were examined in a repeated measures
design with food (chocolate vs. apple vs. nothing) and time
(5, 30, 60, 90 min after eating) as factors. The four trials for
each food condition were spread out over 6 consecutive days
randomly, provided that each individual had a different
sequence of two food conditions on each day. Participants
received four chocolate bars (Ritter Sport, Afred Ritter
GmbH), and four apples (Braeburn and Jonagold). One
chocolate bar weighed 50 g (270 kcal) and one apple weighed
approx. 170 g (90 kcal). Additionally, subjects received twelve
envelopes, 12 sets of answer sheets, and a timer (Elite Time
interval meter, Kaufhof Warenhaus AG). They completed a set
of answer sheets in the morning between 10:00 a.m. and 11:30
a.m. and in the afternoon between 4:00 p.m. and 5:30 p.m.
After completion of the first answer sheet in each set, they
opened an envelope and received the information whether they
had to eat chocolate, an apple or nothing. After eating (or after
a 5-min pause in the nothing condition), they started the timer
and were beeped 5, 30, 60 and 90 min later. Upon receiving
each signal they completed an answer sheet (3 min to
complete). Participants were instructed not to eat for at least
1 h before opening the first envelope of a set (they followed this
instruction in 93% of the chocolate trials, in 94% of the apple
trials, and in 95% of the nothing trials) and were also instructed
not to eat until the final answer sheet of a set was completed
(they followed this instruction in 92% of the chocolate and the
apple trials and in 83% of the nothing trials).
Dependent variables
Subjects rated the extent to which a number of items
matched their present state: hunger (German translation:
Hungergefuhl), desire to eat (Lust etwas zu essen), tension,
e.g. nervous/tense (Anspannung, z.B. nervos/verkrampft),
tiredness (Mudigkeit), activation, e.g. active/energetic (Aktiviertheit, z.B. aktiv/tatkraftig), mood (Stimmung), guilt
(Schuldgefuhl, weil ich etwas gegessen habe), anger, e.g.
rger, z.B. argerlich, gereizt), fear, e.g.
angry/annoyed (A
anxious/fearful (Angst, z.B. angstlich, angsterfullt), sadness,
e.g. sad/depressed (Traurigkeit, z.B. traurig/betrubt), joy, e.g.
joyful/happy (Freude, z.B. frohlich, gut gelaunt), boredom
(Langweile) and loneliness (Einsamkeit). Mood was rated on a
bipolar scale from 0 (extremely bad) to 10 (extremely

333

good), the other items on an unipolar 7-point scale from 0

(not at all) to 6 (very strongly). After eating, participants
also rated the pleasantness of the food they had eaten on a
7-point scale from 1 (very bad) to 7 (very good).
Data analysis
Data from the trials from each food conditions were
averaged individually (there were no missing data except one
person with three chocolate trials, and two persons with three
apple trials; in these cases, three trials were averaged). For each
dependent variable, 3!4 repeated measures ANOVAs (Greenhouse-Geisser adjustment of degrees of freedom) with food and
time as factors were computed. For variables for which a main
effect of food or a food!time interaction was found, paired
t-tests were computed with an averaged change score (mean of
measurements obtained after eating) to compare overall effect
of food conditions.
Results
Predictably, ANOVA revealed significant effects of food,
F(2, 216)Z43.4, p!0.001, and time, F(3, 216)Z80.1,
p!.001, on hunger (averaged ratings for all trials and post
times). Paired t-tests with averaged change scores indicated
that chocolate reduced hunger to a greater extent than the
apple, T(36)ZK2.9, pZ.007, and that both foods reduced
hunger to a greater extent than eating nothing (T(36)ZK9.0
for chocolate and T(36)Z6.1 for the apple, ps!0.001; Fig. 1).
Changes of desire to eat were very similar to changes of hunger
(Table 1). More importantly, there was a main effect of food on
mood, F(2, 216)Z11.6, p!0.001. Compared to eating
nothing, paired t-tests with averaged change scores indicated
better mood levels after eating chocolate, T(36)Z4.5,
p!0.001, and after eating an apple, T(36)Z3.2, pZ.003.
Additionally, mood elevation was more pronounced after
eating chocolate than after eating the apple, T(36)ZK5.9,
p!0.001 (Fig. 1). ANOVAs and paired t-tests indicated that
eating chocolate also increased joy compared to the nothing
condition and that both the chocolate bar and the apple
increased activation (Table 1).
In addition to emotionally positive effects, eating chocolate
elicited guilt responses, which were most pronounced
immediately after eating (Fig. 1, Table 1). ANOVAs revealed
effects of food, F(2, 216)Z17.4, p!0.001, of time, F(3,
216)Z10.9, p!0.001, and a food!time interaction, F(6,
216)Z10.9, p!0.01, for guilt. To explore the relation between
guilt and other emotions, the sample was subdivided at the
median of guilt responses 5 min after eating into guilt
responders (nZ19; MZ1.5, SDZ0.8, range from 0.5 to 3.0)
and guilt non-responders (nZ18, MZ0.6, SDZ0.3 range from
K1.0 to 0.5). As shown by t-tests, the increase of joy after
eating chocolate was more pronounced in women who felt less
guilty (overall change, MZ0.39, SDZ0.42) than for guilt
responders (MZ0.01, SDZ0.53; T(35)Z2.4, pZ0.022). The
difference in mood change between these groups was in the
same direction, but only of marginal significance (T(35)Z1.8,

334

M. Macht, D. Dettmer / Appetite 46 (2006) 332336

Hunger

To assess possible associations between postive emotional

changes after chocolate and hunger, correlations (Pearson)
between emotion ratings and hunger were computed. These
were non-significant (ps!0.05) and low (mood: rsZK0.01,
K0.05, 0.04, and 0.28; joy: rsZK0.23, 0.07, K0.03, and 0.12;
tiredness: rsZK0.01, K0.05, 0.04, and 0.28 for measurements
5, 30, 60 and 90 min after eating). Additionally, if correlation
coefficients were O0.20, exploratory, oneway ANCOVAs with
food as factor and hunger ratings as covariate were computed
and compared with results of ANOVAs (without covariate).
Interestingly, these analyses showed that effects of food were
weaker and did not reach significance (psO0.10) when hunger
was used as covariate.

Chocolate
Apple
Nothing

Food
Intake
-2

Discussion

Mood

-1

Food
Intake

Guilt

Food
Intake
-2
-5

30

60

90

Minutes
Fig. 1. Mean changes (G SEM) of hunger, mood and guilt after eating
chocolate, an apple or nothing in everyday life (difference from baseline scores;
nZ37 women).

pZ0.089). Guilt responders and guilt non-responders did not

differ significantly in NEO-FFI, DEBQ subscales and body
mass index (psO0.10). Correlations between guilt responses
and these measures were low (!0.30) and did not reach
significance level (psO0.10).
Table 1 summarizes the results for the remaining selfratings. Chocolate decreased tiredness compared to eating
nothing. No effects of food or any food!time interactions were
found for tension, boredom, fear, anger, sadness and loneliness
(as can be seen from Table 1, most of these emotions were
rated very low). Analysis of taste ratings showed that chocolate
(MZ6.0, SDZ0.9) was rated as more pleasant than the apple
(MZ5.5, SDZ0.9; T(36)Z2.6, pZ0.013).

Our study demonstrates that eating chocolate induces

both positive and negative emotional changes in healthy,
normal-weight women in their natural environment. Chocolate increased activation, reduced tiredness, elevated mood
and elicited joy. Since, this increase of positive emotions
was most pronounced 5 and 30 min after eating, early
mechanisms such as sensory pleasure possibly contribute to
a greater extent to emotional effects of chocolate than late
mechanisms such as neurochemical changes. This conclusion is in line with the finding that it is the sensory
experience associated with eating chocolate rather than its
pharmacological constituents that reduces craving for
chocolate (Michener & Rozin, 1994). Moreover, our results
indicate that reduction of hunger is not so important for the
positive emotional effects of chocolate immediately after
consumption. Whereas hunger reduction was comparable
5 min after eating the chocolate bar or the apple, mood
elevation was far more pronounced after eating chocolate.
However, as indicated by correlational analyses, changes in
hunger contributed to positive emotional effects 60 and
90 min after consumption. This pattern of results calls for a
more systematic study of the role of energy content. In
future studies, it will be necessary to match foods in terms
of their caloric content and to examine whether the
emotional effects of chocolate are due to its high energy
content and whether such effects can also be produced by
other energy-dense foods. Future studies may also include
more positive emotion ratings.
Furthermore, to fully understand the emotionally positive
effects of chocolate, it should be recognized that eating-related
pleasures go beyond sensory stimulation: They are anticipated
and remembered (Macht et al., 2005; Rozin, 1999). Consequently, in the present study the positive effects of chocolate
could also be influenced by the information that participants
would eat chocolate (and not the apple or nothing). Future studies
will have to distinguish between sensory experiences, anticipation and memory of these experiences. For example, emotions
could be assessed after people know what they will eat, but
before they eat. Future research may also control more rigorously
for menstrual cycle, habitual patterns of chocolate consumption
and gender and may compare voluntary vs. non-voluntary intake.

M. Macht, D. Dettmer / Appetite 46 (2006) 332336

335

Table 1
Self-ratings of motivation to eat and emotional state in everyday life after eating chocolate (C), an apple (A) or nothing (N) in healthy women (nZ37, M, mean; SD,
standard deviation)
5 min before
eating

Time after eating (min)

5

Hunger

Desire to Eat

Mood

Activation

Joy

Tiredness

Guilt

Tension

Boredom

Fear

Anger

Sadness

Loneliness

C
A
N
C
A
N
C
A
N
C
A
N
C
A
N
C
A
N
C
A
N
C
A
N
C
A
N
C
A
N
C
A
N
C
A
N
C
A
N

30

60

Effect: p!a

Single
comparisonsb

F: 0.001
T: 0.001

C!N*
C!A**
A!N*
C!N*
C!A**
A!N*
CON*
AON**

90

SD

SD

SD

SD

SD

2.4
2.1
1.9
3
2.6
2.6
6.2
6.2
6.4
3
3.2
3.3
3
3
3.2
2.3
2.3
2.3
0.3
0.2
0.2
1.6
1.6
1.7
0.7
0.7
0.9
0.3
0.4
0.4
0.5
0.7
0.6
0.6
0.6
0.6
0.4
0.6
0.6

1.1
1.1
1
1.1
1.2
1
1.1
1.1
0.9
0.8
0.7
0.7
1.1
0.9
0.9
1
1
1
0.7
0.3
0.5
0.9
1.1
1.1
0.7
0.7
0.8
0.5
0.6
0.5
0.5
0.7
0.7
0.7
0.6
0.7
0.6
0.7
0.7

1.2
1.1
2.2
1.5
1.5
2.8
6.8
6.4
6.2
3.4
3.3
3.1
3.4
3
3
1.8
1.8
2.1
1.1
0.2
0.1
1.4
1.6
1.8
0.5
0.6
0.8
0.3
0.4
0.5
0.7
0.7
0.9
0.5
0.5
0.7
0.3
0.5
0.5

1
1.1
1.1
1.2
1.2
1.2
1.2
1.2
1.1
0.7
0.8
0.7
1.1
1
0.9
0.7
0.9
1
1.1
0.6
0.2
1
1.1
1.2
0.6
0.6
0.7
0.5
0.5
0.6
0.6
0.8
0.8
0.6
0.6
0.7
0.5
0.6
0.6

1.3
1.5
2.6
1.7
2
3.1
6.8
6.6
6.1
3.4
3.4
3.1
3.2
3
3
1.8
1.9
2.1
0.9
0.2
0.1
1.5
1.6
1.9
0.6
0.8
0.8
0.3
0.4
0.4
0.7
0.7
0.9
0.5
0.6
0.5
0.3
0.5
0.5

1.1
1.2
1
1.2
1.2
0.9
1
1
1.1
0.7
0.7
0.7
1
0.9
0.9
0.9
1
1
1.1
0.3
0.4
1
1.1
1.1
0.6
0.8
0.6
0.5
0.5
0.6
0.5
0.6
0.7
0.6
0.6
0.6
0.5
0.6
0.7

1.6
2
2.9
2.1
2.6
3.3
6.5
6.4
6.1
3.2
3.3
3.1
3.1
3
2.9
1.8
2
2.2
0.7
0.1
0.1
1.6
1.7
1.9
0.7
0.7
0.8
0.4
0.4
0.3
0.6
0.7
0.8
0.5
0.6
0.5
0.4
0.4
0.4

1.2
1.2
1.1
1.3
1.3
1.2
1.1
1.1
1.1
0.8
0.6
0.7
1.1
0.9
0.9
0.8
1
1
1
0.3
0.3
1.1
1.1
1.1
0.6
0.7
0.8
0.5
0.6
0.6
0.6
0.6
0.7
0.7
0.7
0.6
0.7
0.5
0.5

2.3
2.8
3.5
2.9
3.3
4
6.6
6.5
6.3
3.2
3.4
3.1
3.1
3.2
3.2
1.8
2.1
2.2
0.5
0.1
0.1
1.7
1.6
1.8
0.7
0.6
0.7
0.4
0.3
0.3
0.8
0.7
0.9
0.6
0.5
0.5
0.5
0.4
0.5

1.2
1.3
1
1.2
1.2
1.1
1.2
1.1
1.3
0.7
0.7
0.6
1.1
0.9
1.1
0.9
0.9
1
0.9
0.3
0.2
1.1
1.1
1.3
0.7
0.6
0.7
0.5
0.5
0.6
0.7
0.7
0.8
0.7
0.6
0.7
0.7
0.5
0.6

F: 0.001
T: 0.001
F!T: 0.017
F: 0.001

F: 0.002

CON**
AON**

F: 0.002
T: 0.040
F!T: 0.011
F: 0.019

CON**
AON***

F: 0.001
T: 0.001
F!T: 0.01

C!N***

CON*
COA*

*p!0.001; **p!0.01; ***p!0.05.

a
Repeated measures ANOVAs were computed with difference from baseline scores with food (F)!time (T) as factors; p!0.10 are shown.
b
To compare overall effects of food conditions, paired t-tests were computed for the averaged change (mean of measurements 5, 30, 60 and 90 min after eating).

Our study also shows that chocolate can elicit guilt

responses in healthy, normal-weight women. These responses
are probably induced by negative food-related cognitions that
are based on culturally determined attitudes to slimness and
body weight (Macht, Gerer, & Ellgring, 2003). To measure
these attitudes, instruments such as the body shape questionnaire (Cooper, Taylor, Cooper, & Fairburn, 1987) or the
fear of fat scale (Goldfarb, Dykens, & Gerrard, 1985) may be
more appropriate than the questionnaires used in our study.
Although high guilt responses were associated with weaker
positive emotions, negative and positive emotional reactions
may not be mutually exclusive. Possibly, chocolate elicits
positive emotions due to sensory pleasure during and

immediately after consumption, but more and more guilt

thereafter, due to negative thoughts. Temporal tracking of
positive and negative emotions during and after chocolate
consumption may shed light on the nature of this emotional
ambivalence.
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