Quick Hits
Daily brief research updates from the cognitive sciences
A fascinating piece of research just published shows that drinking coffee makes you more impulsive. That means you are likely to buy more, and more items you actually don’t need.
What is astounding though, is that the effect sizes in this study was dramatic to say the least.
What did these researchers at the University of South Florida find?
They set up a complimentary coffee stand at a store and then offered shoppers complimentary coffee. But only half received caffeinated coffee with the other half receiving decaffeinated coffee. 300 of these people then shared their receipts with the researchers.
The found that those who had drank the caffeinated coffee spent 50% more on average and 30% more items. This figure is exceptionally high. Also suggesting that these individuals probably had no strict budget restraints.
The analysis also showed that those caffeinated shoppers also bought more non-essential items. However, this was not a controlled lab experiment, so the researchers also conducted a lab-based experiment whereby 200 participants then selected what they wanted to buy from a preselected list of 66 items. Again, after drinking caffeinated coffee or decaffeinated coffee or a non-caffeine drink such as water.
The again found that those who had drunk the caffeinated coffee picked more items that could be considered impulsive purchases i.e. non-essential items.
Why?
The effect sizes are so large I would certainly like to see more follow studies on this. However, the group sizes should be large enough to weed out any fluke irregularities. The researchers noted that caffeine is a stimulant and also actives various energizing and feel-good pathways in the brain notably the dopamine network. This can lead to a higher energetic state but also more impulsiveness and lower self-control.
So mental note: before going shopping, keep off the coffee●
Andy Habermacher
Andy is author of leading brains Review, Neuroleadership, and multiple other books. He has been intensively involved in writing and research into neuroleadership and is considered one of Europe’s leading experts. He is also a well-known public speaker speaking on the brain and human behaviour.
Andy is also a masters athlete (middle distance running) and competes regularly at international competitions (and holds a few national records in his age category).
Reference
Dipayan Biswas, Patrick Hartmann, Martin Eisend, Courtney Szocs, Bruna Jochims, Vanessa Apaolaza, Erik Hermann, Cristina M. López, Adilson Borges.
EXPRESS: Caffeine’s Effects on Consumer Spending.
Journal of Marketing, 2022; 002224292211092
DOI: 10.1177/00222429221109247
More Quick Hits
Brain Scans Can Predict Your Political Affiliation
Quick HitsDaily brief research updates from the cognitive sciences rain scanning of political partisans is not new and it has long been reported that brain scans can predict political affiliation. But those studies were scans of political partisans...
Children with Same-Sex Parents Are Socially Well-Adjusted
Quick HitDaily brief research updates from the cognitive sciences his is not the first study to report that children of same-sex parents are well adjusted, there are plenty, but it is one of the first to be representative and hence gives some...
Simple Exposure to New Things Makes Your Brain Ready to Learn
ouldn’t it be great if we could learn things with no effort? Well, actually we often do, and children learn vast quantities of information, and knowledge with little to no effort – think of how well we learn languages which become fiendishly...
So, Can Cranberries Improve Memory?
tend to be hesitant to report on studies of single foods doing amazing things (because many do), but this piece of research still caught my eye. So, what did this group of researchers from the University of East Anglia find? Well, they...
The Real Problem with Social Media: It Induces Dissociative States
Quick HitsDaily brief research updates from the cognitive sciences ocial media seems to hijack our brains – or at least according to popular narratives. Most of us have experienced this where you get stuck in an endless stream of content,...
Adventurous Play Boosts Mental Resilience in Kids
o, a simple cheap way to help your kids improve all life skills and strengthen mental wellbeing. Too good to be true? Well, this piece of research, just out, finds a fascinating correlation with mental health and kids. This correlation was...