An evolutionary perspective on nutrition and social decision making

We were intrigued by findings reported by Strang et al. (1) that the balance of carbohydrate to protein in a breakfast preparation influenced subsequent human social decision making. Specifically, compared with a low-carbohydrate/high-protein breakfast, consumption of a high-carbohydrate/low-protein breakfast increased participants’ tendency to punish violations of social norms, assessed as increased rejection rates of unfair offers in the ultimatum game. Said differently, participants that consumed more protein were more willing to tolerate being taken advantage of, an interpretation of the findings supported by the fact that among a number of biological variables measured, only increased tyrosine was found to mediate the effect of breakfast consumption on subsequent … [↵][1]1To whom correspondence should be addressed. Email: raison{at}wisc.edu. [1]: #xref-corresp-1-1