If your TikTok feed is currently full of people claiming they've got the 'chicken ick', a psychologist says they might actually be on to something.
You might have seen social media videos with the caption: "Just a girl that gets the chicken ick/paranoia every single time."
Or another: "Me trying to eat my chicken as fast as possible before my brain realises it and I get the chicken ick."
Yep, a new phobia has been unlocked, that midway through a delicious bite of chicken, you might realise the food is actually disgusting.
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One TikToker asked whether it was a ‘universal experience’ to worry that a ‘bad piece of chicken might ruin it for you for a month’, and the answer is that whilst it’s not universal, it is far more widespread than you’d think.
In fact, science has even explained why it's primarily women who are getting the 'chicken ick' rather than men.
Dr Lorenzo Stafford, associate professor in psychobiological psychology at the University of Portsmouth, has been investigating how our senses link to our general behaviour.
Writing in The Conversation, Dr Stafford revealed the psychological basis for this, saying it relates to how our body deals with our disgust response.
These can be broken down into a few reasons as to why chicken and certain other foods can switch on the turn of a dime.
The first he stated was about presentation.
This might be that the chicken ‘tasted, smelled or looked different’ to how you’re used to.
Due to the mismatch from what your brain expects to what you actually get, your feelings can suddenly shift on it.
The second listed by Dr Stafford is about ingredients, as minor changes can totally change the smell or flavour profile even if we aren’t actively perceiving that it tastes or smells that different.
Third and arguably most surprising however is that your doomscrolling habits may actually be your downfall here.
He said in the article that what you are doing before you prepare the dish might be a huge factor in triggering a disgust response, adding: “If you were scrolling on social media looking at unappetising meals before starting to cook your own meal, this can influence the way you subsequently feel about your own food.
“If you were preparing the dish near someone who expressed disgust (even if they only made a face), this can influence your own disgust response.”
This effect is something called ‘emotional contagion’, the unconscious way in which we can catch emotions from others due to the ‘human tendency to mimic others via mirror neurons’.
Why is it mostly women getting the 'chicken ick'?
Dr Stafford highlighted a 2004 study that found that 'females reported higher disgust sensitivity than males'.
The research team reckoned that 'human disgust emotion may be an evolved response to objects in the environment that represent threats of infectious disease'.
Dr Stafford added: "It’s theorised that such gendered differences in disgust sensitivity developed as an evolutionary response to be choosier when selecting potential mates and protect offspring from disease."
So sorry, ladies - but you're more prone to suddenly find chicken gross.
How to recover from the 'chicken ick'
Ultimately, it’s about managing how and when we are cooking chicken, with the psychological expert stating that there are two ways to come back after experiencing the ‘chicken ick’.
One of these is to prepare the chicken differently the next time you eat it to see if it is linked to the specific way it was prepared, whether that be due to a doomscroll on TikTok pre-bite or a change in the smell.
The easiest way to get over it? Next time, have someone else prepare it for you, whether it be a friend, a partner, or the chef at Nandos.