A number of factors likely affect the liking of capsaicin-containing foods such as social influences, repeated exposure to capsaicin, physiological differences in chemosensation, and personality. For example, it is well known that repeated exposure to capsaicin and chilies can result in chronic desensitization. Here, we explore the relationship between multiple personality variables - body awareness/consciousness, sensation seeking, and sensitivity to punishment, and sensitivity to reward - and the liking and consumption of capsaicin-containing foods. As expected, a strong relationship was found between liking of spicy foods and frequency of chili consumption. However, no association was observed between frequency of chili consumption and the perceived burn/sting of sampled capsaicin. Nor was there any association between perceived burn/sting of capsaicin and any of the personality measures. Private Body Consciousness did not relate to any of the measures used in the current study. Sensation Seeking showed positive correlations with the liking of spicy foods, but not non-spicy control foods. Sensitivity to Punishment showed no relation with frequency of chili consumption, and nonsignificant negative trends with liking of spicy foods. Conversely, Sensitivity to Reward was weakly though significantly correlated with the liking of a spicy meal, and similar nonsignificant trends were seen for other spicy foods. Frequency of chili consumption was positively associated with Sensation Seeking and Sensitivity to Reward. Present data indicate individuals who enjoy spicy foods exhibit higher Sensation Seeking and Sensitivity to Reward traits. Rather than merely showing reduced response to the irritating qualities of capsaicin as might be expected under the chronic desensitization hypothesis, these findings support the hypothesis that personality differences may drive differences in spicy food liking and intake.

中文翻译：

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性格因素预测辛辣食物的喜好和摄入量


许多因素可能会影响对含辣椒素食物的喜好，例如社会影响、反复接触辣椒素、化学感觉的生理差异和个性。例如，众所周知，反复接触辣椒素和辣椒会导致慢性脱敏。在这里，我们探讨了多个人格变量（身体意识/意识、感觉寻求、对惩罚的敏感性和对奖励的敏感性）与对含辣椒素食物的喜好和消费之间的关系。正如预期的那样，人们发现辛辣食物的喜好与辣椒食用频率之间存在密切关系。然而，没有观察到辣椒消费频率与辣椒素样品的灼烧/刺痛感之间存在关联。感知到的辣椒素灼烧/刺痛与任何人格测量之间也没有任何关联。私人身体意识与当前研究中使用的任何措施均无关。感觉寻求与辛辣食物的喜好呈正相关，但与非辛辣对照食物无关。对惩罚的敏感性与吃辣椒的频率没有关系，并且与喜欢辛辣食物没有显着的负趋势。相反，奖励敏感性与辛辣食物的喜好虽然显着但微弱相关，并且其他辛辣食物也有类似的不显着趋势。食用辣椒的频率与感觉寻求和奖励敏感性呈正相关。目前的数据表明，喜欢辛辣食物的人表现出更高的寻求刺激和对奖励的敏感性特征。 这些发现不仅仅像慢性脱敏假说所预期的那样，显示出对辣椒素刺激性的反应减弱，而是支持了这样的假说：性格差异可能会导致辛辣食物的喜好和摄入量存在差异。