May 25, 2012 - 9:40 am
From the Daily News:
Eating organic might make you a jerk, a new study suggests.
Researchers have found that people exposed to organic foods are more likely to exhibit judgmental attitudes.
“There’s a line of research showing that when people can pat themselves on the back for their moral behavior, they can become self-righteous,” study author Kendall Eskine, assistant professor of the department of psychological sciences at Loyola University in New Orleans, told NBC’s “Today” show.
For the study, published last week in the Journal of Social Psychological & Personality Science, Eskine and his team split 60 people into three groups.
I am inclined to believe this – similar published studies have shown that people that perform some hygiene task (i.e. washing hands) show the same trend when presented with moral decisions than a control group.
Southpark nailed this in the “Smug” episode. There is also research in Britain that shows people who recycle are much more likely to consider non-green consumption like international travel as rewards for their supposedly righteous behavior.
I would love to see you flush this topic out a bit more. Such a great subject- such a tiny post.
Related…I live in Chiang Mai (Thailand) and am amazed at the number of tourists riding bicycles around the city. I have friends who are professional drivers who feel strongly that this is the most dangerous way of getting around, compared to cars and small motorbikes. The main reason is that, on a bike, you are not moving with traffic, and the secondary reason is that your protection is zero. (Even the small motorbikes have fenders and stuff.)
BUT! You’re not burning oil! You’re in Paradise, and if everyone else followed your smug example, Chiang Mai would be a Green Paradise.
Ah well, after a few days they all go home, some of them limping. I suspect that some of them are gathered to their fathers in the fulness of their righteousness. The rest of us go right on riding our bikes, which might cost $2 a week for gas.
Title is misleading, a person fed organic without their knowledge will not become a jerk, if only organic food was legal, everyone would not become jerks.
Basically, being a crusader or evangelist of any type makes you a jerk.