The purpose of this study was to characterize the psychoactive effects of tasting chocolate and to evaluate the contribution of the main chocolate components to the desire to consume more of it. A total of 280 participants, (F-155; M=125) ranging in age from 18-65, completed the study. Participants were randomly assigned to taste 12.5 g of either white chocolate ("control") or one of four chocolate ("cocoa") samples varying in sugar, fat and percent cocoa content, then answered the question: "Do you want more of this chocolate?" and "If yes, how many more pieces of this chocolate would you like to eat?" They completed pre- and post-consumption surveys, consisting of 30 questions derived from the Addiction Research Center Inventory (ARCI) subscales, Morphine-Benzedrine Group (MBG), Morphine (M) and Excitement (E). Significant decreases in post-pre consumption changes in MBG subscale were observed between the control sample and the 70% cocoa (p=0.046) or the 85% cocoa sample (p=0.0194). Proportionally more men than women wanted more of the tasted chocolate (p=0.035). Participants were more likely to want more of the tasted chocolate if they displayed a greater change in the MBG scale, and if their chocolate sample had high sugar and cocoa content, as assessed by multiple logistic regression. Our results suggest that multiple characteristics of chocolate, including sugar, cocoa and the drug-like effects experienced, play a role in the desire to consume chocolate.
This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 162. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 29 September 2026.
All research outputs
#317,204
of 34,336,386 outputs
Outputs from Physiology & Behavior
#126
of 6,052 outputs
Outputs of similar age
#943
of 162,350 outputs
Outputs of similar age from Physiology & Behavior
#2
of 62 outputs
Altmetric has tracked 34,336,386 research outputs across all sources so far. Compared to these this one has done particularly well and is in the 99th percentile: it's in the top 5% of all research outputs ever tracked by Altmetric.
So far Altmetric has tracked 6,052 research outputs from this source. They typically receive a lot more attention than average, with a mean Attention Score of 15.6. This one has done particularly well, scoring higher than 97% of its peers.
Older research outputs will score higher simply because they've had more time to accumulate mentions. To account for age we can compare this Altmetric Attention Score to the 162,350 tracked outputs that were published within six weeks on either side of this one in any source. This one has done particularly well, scoring higher than 99% of its contemporaries.
We're also able to compare this research output to 62 others from the same source and published within six weeks on either side of this one. This one has done particularly well, scoring higher than 96% of its contemporaries.
