Anger from Judges Fuels Success in MasterChef, Study Finds

A new study finds that contestants exposed to judges’ anger in the MasterChef competition climb higher in rankings and are more likely to win, suggesting anger can boost performance in high-stakes settings.

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In the high-pressure kitchen of MasterChef, where culinary dreams are made or shattered, a judge’s harsh words or thrown utensil might seem like a setback.

But a new study by Alberto Chong at Georgia State University suggests otherwise. Analyzing a decade of the U.S. MasterChef competition from 2010 to 2020, and seven seasons of MasterChef Canada from 2014 to 2020, Chong found that contestants who faced judges’ anger – marked by raised voices, insults, or physical outbursts – performed better, climbing an average of 1.5 spots in final rankings and boosting their chances of winning by 2.2%.

The findings, still under peer review, challenge assumptions about anger’s impact and highlight its potential as a performance catalyst in competitive environments.

Anger as a Motivational Spark

Anger, defined by the American Psychological Association as “antagonism toward someone or something” with visible traits like “a scowling facial expression, raised voice, and verbal aggression,” is often seen as detrimental.

Prior research links it to stress, anxiety, or impaired decision-making, but Chong’s study explores uncharted territory: how exposure to others’ anger affects performance.

“Exposure to anger may generate a surge of energy, which may be channeled toward focusing on specific tasks or goals, giving a clearer sense of what is important and helping eliminate distractions,” the study suggests.

This surge, it seems, can translate into sharper focus and greater determination under pressure.

The study zeroes in on MasterChef, a high-stakes cooking show where contestants vie for a $250,000 prize, a cookbook deal, and culinary fame.

The intense environment, coupled with the authority of world-class chef judges like Gordon Ramsay, and Alvin Leung in Canada, makes it a perfect lab for testing how anger from those in power influences performance.

Chong’s findings suggest that rather than derailing contestants, judges’ anger acts as a motivational jolt, pushing them to excel in cooking challenges and climb the competitive ladder.

The credibility of top judges like Ramsay and Leung, both internationally renowned chefs, amplifies this effect, as their feedback carries exceptional weight.

A Decade of Data from MasterChef

Chong’s study meticulously analyzed all 197 contestants across the first ten seasons (2010–2020) of MasterChef USA, drawing data from episodes, a MasterChef Wiki, and prior work by Chong and Chong (2023).

For MasterChef Canada, the study included 82 contestants across seven seasons (2014–2020). The team manually recorded every instance of judges’ anger – defined conservatively as raised voices, verbal aggression (e.g., insults or threats), or physical actions like throwing food or utensils.

“A scowling face, expressions of displeasure, disappointment, saying that a dish is ‘disgusting’, or similar strong adjectives are not enough” to qualify as anger, the study clarifies, ensuring objectivity.

Three independent evaluators – the author and two PhD student research assistants – assessed all episodes using a standardized protocol based on APA criteria, achieving 94.5% agreement. Discrepancies were resolved by majority voting, and a fourth evaluator confirmed robustness on a random sample.

Chong examined how anger exposure affected final placement, controlling for individual traits (age, gender, college education, race) and city-level factors (poverty rate, household income, political leaning).

They found that each instance of anger exposure improved a contestant’s final placement by 1.47 to 1.78 positions.

Anger also increased the likelihood of placing in the top three by 11% and winning by 2.5%.

Notably, anger from Gordon Ramsay, the show’s most prominent judge, drove much of the effect, boosting top-three odds by 9% and winning chances by 2%.

The study included 197 observations, with an average of 22 episodes and 18–20 contestants per season, and used season-fixed effects and clustered standard errors for rigor.

In MasterChef Canada, similar patterns emerged with 82 contestants across an average of 12 episodes per season.

Anger exposure improved final placement by approximately 3.1 positions (p<0.01), increased top-three placement probability by 13%, and winning probability by 11%.

These effects were primarily driven by Alvin Leung, the most prestigious judge, mirroring Ramsay’s influence in the U.S. version.

The consistency across both countries strengthens the study’s findings, suggesting that anger’s motivational impact transcends cultural contexts.

Implications and Caveats

These findings have broad implications beyond the kitchen.

“People exposed to anger in frequent and countless situations” – like workplaces, sports, or high-stakes professions – “may be compounded by the fact that the interactions among individuals may not be horizontal, and seniority and power may be involved,” the study notes.

Managers, coaches, or leaders might reconsider how their expressions of anger affect performance, potentially harnessing it to motivate rather than intimidate.

But Chong cautions that the results are not causal, as unobservable factors could influence both anger exposure and performance.

And judges may express anger toward better contestants due to higher expectations, or producers may highlight anger toward successful contestants for broadcast appeal, introducing potential biases.

“Our findings, as economically relevant as they are, are based on short-term episodes of anger in a constrained, time-limited environment,” the paper says, and long-term anger exposure might yield different outcomes.

The study opens a door for further research, particularly in real-world settings like offices or sports teams, where power dynamics and emotional outbursts are common.

For now, it suggests that in the heat of competition, a judge’s wrath might just be the spark that propels a contestant to victory – turning anger into an unexpected ally.

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