Quiz: What is Your Chocolate Personality?

We know that our preferences, tastes, habits and behaviours can tell a psychologist a lot about our hidden motivations and beliefs, but can anything be learned from our chocolate preferences?

Surprisingly, quite a lot can be gleaned from our favourite sweet treats, although there’s more information in the way we handle the wrapping than in what we choose to eat. Our quiz might be light-hearted, but it’s underpinned by some substantial evidence from behavioural scientists that shows links between our treatment of ‘treats’ and ‘rewards’, and our view of the world.

Psychology Of Chocolate

Chocolate has become the most widely acceptable public indulgence. Since cigarette smoking was outlawed in public buildings, and as alcohol is increasingly frowned upon as a social lubricant or reward, the giving, sharing and eating of chocolate has taken on new significance.

We use chocolate to reward our children and ourselves, to mark special events, such as Valentine’s Day, and to help us get over a bad time. But the chocolate we eat and the way we eat it can also give clues to our personality type.

Which Flavour Do You Prefer?

A. Milk chocolate, truffles and creamy flavours.

B. Dark chocolate, liqueur fillings and rich flavours.

C. Slab chocolate containing offbeat or exciting ingredients like chilli, lavender or goji berries.

What's Your Favourite Shape?

A. Traditional chocolate boxes, especially those tied up with ribbon.

B. Ballotins in funky colours, and chocolates wrapped in foil or shiny paper.

C. Bars in paper wrappers or handmade chocolates that you choose at the counter.

When Do You Buy?

A. Do you look forward to getting chocolates for Valentine’s Day, Christmas and other special occasions because they are something you’d never buy yourself?

B. Do you buy special chocolates and put them in the cupboard as an incentive to earn them when you’ve completed a task or met a target?

C. Do you buy chocolates when you’re out with friends, especially when you’ve met somebody for lunch or shopping?

How Do You Eat Your Chocolate?

A. Do you eat them in front of the TV or with your family?

B. Do you eat them at the end of a good meal or with coffee as a mid-morning treat?

C. Do you prefer chocolate eaten at the cinema or browsing a flea market or other outdoor venue with friends?

Disposing Your Wrappers

Chocolate rarely comes unwrapped – what’s your wrapper disposal style?

A. You consume the entire box, even the centres you don’t like, then use the empty container to store photographs, buttons or other small items.

B. You simply tear off the wrapper and throw it away, or just crumple it in your pocket.

C. Given a choice, you prefer to avoid packaging, which is why you like to buy chocolate from a shop or stall where you can ask them not to put ribbons and other fripperies on the packet. You recycle paper chocolate wrappers and tend not to buy chocolate in cellophane because of the environmental impact.

Sharing Your Chocolate

One of the biggest keys to our chocolate personality is the way we deal with sharing our favourite food. How do you shape up?

A. Chocolate is all about sharing. Your friensd and family still buy you the same traditional chocolates, even though you think you might like some of the new varieties, because the habit of dipping into the box has become a ritual you all enjoy.

B. You can’t see the point really. Chocolate is a preference and you know what you like, so why share it?

C. Chocolate eaten alone would be a bit of an indulgence, so you tend to stick to only buying it when you’re with friends or family or going out for the evening to a place where chocolate eating is acceptable.

Your Results

Mainly A – You’re a classic chocolate consumer: you still think chocolate is a reward for being good and you rely on others to give you that reward.

Mainly B – You’re a driven hedonist: you love to consume, but you can only do so if you think you’ve earned it. For you chocolate is an incentive to perform and a guilty pleasure that you tend to indulge in private.

Mainly C – You’re a responsible consumer: despite your love of chocolate, you fear that eating it marks you out as an irresponsible person, so you favour Fair Trade chocolate and try to limit waste and food miles as much as possible.