Does+chocolate+really+make+you+happy?

Title: Chocolate and Happiness

Purpose: I have always enjoyed chocolate and, when I eat it, I always feel super happy and at peace with myself. This makes me wonder, does chocolate REALLY make you feel happy when you eat it, or, is it just my love for chocolate that is making me feel this way? This simple question is why I am conducting this servery From my research that I did, I found that chocolate, actually contains an amino acid by the name of Tryptophan. Tryptophan is an essential amino acid known for its anti-depressant and pain killing affects. The human body needs Tryptophan to make Serotonin, which "regulates" a humans mood or feelings. When your body has a high level of Serotonin, you are more likely to feel happy or content. If you are too low on Serotonin, you will most likely feel depressed or anxious, but on the other hand, if you have TOO MUCH Serotonin, you will most likely feel irritable, or aggressive. This fact, in itself, can lead you to think that Chocolate DOES in fact make you happy, in moderation. ([])

(I have no idea where this should go, so I'll just throw it out here). Chocolate has been proven to increase feelings of love in humans. That study may help you with your own, it is similar to yours. I also fixed a few spelling errors. - Andrew Gray I think that chocolate symbolizes the feeling of love and where did you get that fact? (Gaspar) Some people, when they are sad or depressed, experience a craving for chocolate. Hope this helps. (Katy T) Describe how the different types of chocolate may effect a person's mood.Such as which kind of chocolate makes them more happy. (Kylie Ashton) 1/5/13 What kind of chocolate? White, Milk, Dark, so on. (Maddy Hibbard) And to go off of what Maddy said, what brand of chocolate will you be using? (Jess Earl) I love this topic, but when and on who will you be testing this on? (Sarah Baer) Methods: To work out this ISP, I am planning on creating a servey for people to take that will consist of questions such as, "What kind of Chocolate do you eat most often?", "When do you eat Chocolate?", "What type of mood are you in before and after you consume Chocolate?", and so on and so forth. I will pick a certain number of each gender to take this servey, since we need answers from both men and women, considering that most likely different genders will have different answers to these questions. I will also not mention what mood chocolate SUPPOSEDLY makes you after eating it, because, if I tell people this before they take the servey, it might affect how they answer it. When I am done letting people take my servey, I will compare the results of the both genders, and, after some thinking and composing, I will come up with my answer to the question: "Does chocolate REALLY make you happy?"

Materials: -Copies of the Servey -Pencils -A notebook

Hypothesis: If I give people my servey to complete, then I will find out that chocolate DOES in fact make you happy.

Citations: Blue, Chani, and Rebecca Hunnisent. "Does Chocolate Really Make You Feel Better?"The Epoch Times. 12 Dec. 2007. Web. 26 Nov. 2012.

"All About Chocolate: Chocolate And Your Health." Kkloukin. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Nov. 2012. .

Clark, Josh. "Can Chocolate Give Me A Happy-High?" How Stuff Works. N.p., 2 June 2009. Web. 27 Nov. 2012.

Maddy, you might want to reconsider your methods. Doing an entirely survey-based research project can have skewed results. It might be best to actually test people's mood before and after you feed them chocolate. This isn't the type of thing most people think about, so it's possible that they'll say "I have no idea" and just throw something down, which, needless to say, is also bad for your results. Also, if you hint that they should feel happier after eating the chocolate, that's a bias, which can affect how people view their feelings overall and again, skew your results. But I love the idea for this experiment, it's something I'd never thought about before! (Cate Reem)