A recent study finds that people recognize words associated with positive thoughts more quickly after they have consumed caffeine.
Many people do not feel “like themselves” before they enjoy a morning cup of coffee. Now this study finds that the enhanced sense of well-being that caffeine creates is reflected in our perception of words. As reported in the journal PLoS One, caffeine increases the recognition of words associated with positive thoughts, but it does not increase the recognition of words with negative or even neutral associations.
Scientists assigned 66 subjects to one of two groups. Half were given a 200 mg. caffeine tablet, a dose equal to about a cup and a half of filter-drip coffee. The other half received a sugar tablet. Thirty minutes later the volunteers were shown strings of letters and had to decide as quickly as they could if a string formed a word or was just gibberish.
The result? Both groups of participants recognized words with positive associations much faster than either negative or neutral words. However, the group that took caffeine recognized the positive words decidedly faster than the group that had taken the sugar pill.
So, if you are trying to say something nice to someone, your comments might be more appreciated more if your listener has had a cup of coffee before hearing them.
