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June 08, 2006

Caffeine makes people more open to persuasion:

cappuccino_cup.jpgDosing someone with coffee or another strongly caffeinated drink may make them more susceptible to persuasion, according to a recent study, reported in New Scientist.

Previous studies have show that consuming caffeine can improve one's attention and enhance cognitive performance, with 200 milligrams (equivalent to two cups of coffee) being the optimal dose.

Moderate doses of caffeine can also make you more easily convinced by arguments that go against your beliefs, say Pearl Martin of the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia, and her colleagues.

In 2005, her team published a paper suggesting that the compound primes people to agree with statements that go against their typical views because it improves their ability to understand the reasoning behind the statements.

After a bit of a search, it seems the full paper is freely available online.


Link to news story from New Scientist.
Link to page with full-text paper.

—Vaughan.

Posted at June 8, 2006 08:30 PM

Comments

alwayswow says:

I won't tell this my wife - otherwise, everytime she asks me for something, she invites me to the next Starbucks first. Just kidding, but thanks for the information. I wonder if there is an increasing amount of openness when one drinks more coffee?

Comment posted at June 10, 2006 12:44 PM

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