Caffeine Consumption and Beliefs Regarding Caffeine's Effects in an Online U.S. Sample
Additional Funding Sources
The project described was supported by a State Board of Education Strategic Initiative Undergraduate Award, 2020 AHRC 44, through Idaho State University.
Abstract
Metacognition, the monitoring and regulation of cognitive processes, is crucial for optimizing performance in both professional and academic settings. As with other physiological functions, cognition has been shown to be affected by use of stimulants. Given the prevalence of caffeine use, it is important to examine the interaction between beliefs about caffeine's effects and its actual physiological effect on performance. Caffeine has well-documented effects on reaction time and sustained attention, but its effects on metacognitive processes are under-researched, the few extant studies inconclusive. One possible explanation for these inconsistencies could be expectancy effects, previously shown to affect cognitive processes. The relationship between metacognitions and expectancy effects due to consumer beliefs, particularly beliefs about caffeine's effects on cognition, has yet to be fully researched. The results of an online survey of 358 U.S. citizens indicate that caffeine is believed to enhance a variety of cognitive processes. An exploratory factor analysis of this data suggests these processes can be assigned to four categories: executive functioning, memory and reasoning, verbal abilities, and divergent thinking. The next phase of this study will explore the effect of expectancy upon objective performance both in the presence of caffeine and placebo.
Caffeine Consumption and Beliefs Regarding Caffeine's Effects in an Online U.S. Sample
Metacognition, the monitoring and regulation of cognitive processes, is crucial for optimizing performance in both professional and academic settings. As with other physiological functions, cognition has been shown to be affected by use of stimulants. Given the prevalence of caffeine use, it is important to examine the interaction between beliefs about caffeine's effects and its actual physiological effect on performance. Caffeine has well-documented effects on reaction time and sustained attention, but its effects on metacognitive processes are under-researched, the few extant studies inconclusive. One possible explanation for these inconsistencies could be expectancy effects, previously shown to affect cognitive processes. The relationship between metacognitions and expectancy effects due to consumer beliefs, particularly beliefs about caffeine's effects on cognition, has yet to be fully researched. The results of an online survey of 358 U.S. citizens indicate that caffeine is believed to enhance a variety of cognitive processes. An exploratory factor analysis of this data suggests these processes can be assigned to four categories: executive functioning, memory and reasoning, verbal abilities, and divergent thinking. The next phase of this study will explore the effect of expectancy upon objective performance both in the presence of caffeine and placebo.