How do you build rapport with a new employer or someone on a first date? It turns out there's a simple strategy that's often overlooked:Eat the same as your partner. This is apparent from a series of experiments by researchers.
In their first study, each participant was paired up with a stranger before playing an investment game. The participants were given money to give to the stranger who would invest the money – with a guarantee that the investment would double in value. The foreigners, or “fund managers,” could decide how much — if any — of the invested money to return to their partners. Some couples were given the same candy for the exercise, while others ate different candy. The researchers discovered that the participants gave more money to the stranger when they ate the same type of candy.
The researchers tested the influence of food in a second study during a labor negotiation. Some couples ate similar food during the negotiations, while others ate different food. The couples who ate similar foods reached an agreement almost twice as quickly as the groups who ate different foods.
