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Abstract

This research was designed to place the notion of being hungry and angry, or as it is colloquially known, ‘hangry’ within a sociological framework to not only explore this portmanteau as an explicit concept, but also aim to unearth its relationship with wider sociological phenomena. I argue that ‘hanger’ is a product of our social environment. This dissertation is set within the context that sociocultural changes such as increasingly individualised, consumerist ideals are undermining traditional institutions and rituals. These changes can in turn have a profound effect on aspects of our everyday life. In adopting this contextual framework, I aim to outline a sociological dimension to this predominantly biological and psychological phenomenon by considering how the evolution of our social environment could perhaps be linked to the emergence of ‘hanger’ in recent years.
Through qualitative semi-structured interviews with full-time undergraduate university students and the thematic analysis of data, this study hopes to investigate people’s experiences with this concept, as well as other established sociological ideas. In doing so, this dissertation seeks to determine why the notion of being ‘hangry’ has proliferated over recent years. The consequential data found that not only is there a relationship between 'hanger' and wider sociocultural factors relating to food and social life, but inquiry into being ‘hangry’ further helps us to understand the relationships between sociology, food, and emotion.

Course: Sociology and Media - BSc (Hons)

Date Deposited: 2020-10-13

URI/permalink: https://library.port.ac.uk/dissert/dis13571.html