Slashdot Mirror
Is Coffee the Persuasion Bean?
Gli7ch writes "According to an Australian study, our geek wonder-drink of choice might turn us into yes-men. From the article: "The experiments showed that "caffeine increases persuasion through instigating systematic processing of the message"." Apparently this has implications for the advertising world, "because it suggests that they should schedule adverts for times when people are likely to be consuming caffeine, such as breakfast time."."
Is Coffee the Persuasion Bean?
Excellent question.
I'd recommend sending $1.00 to paypal@grub.net. Will post the results in my journal later this week.
Trolling is a art,
Personally, I become overly chatty instead. This often leads to me speaking my mind more freely at meetings than I otherwise would. The little part of me that asks "should I really say that?" doesn't speed up as much as the bouncy part that says "What? That's a stupid idea! Let me share with the group."
Needless to say, coffee turns me into a "WTF-man" more than a "yes-man".
Of course, beer probably makes people more receptive to advertising as well; this could be a problem.
Bill Stewart
New Fast-Compression-only CPR http://preview.tinyurl.com/dy575ks
Does this work with women?
This must be why I'm so impressionable then.
My answer is this. You catch me without a cup of coffee and I'm probably going to be tired and in a bad mood. I'll not only be bitchy, but way more likely to disagree with anything. With coffee I'm happy and it's all shmooth sailing. But then again by that logic it might be better to schedule advertising when I'm most likely to be smoking pot, or maybe smoking pot and drinking coffee at the same time.
....all you need to do is to be told "don't drink coffee" while drinking coffee
Brilliant
Anyone having beer for breakfast has bigger problems than being receptive to advertising.
but I don't know, I think the article is right, I have to agree.
I agree with this article and I have only had 7 double expressos this morning. Hardly a high dose of caffine at all.
Beep beep.
Consuming coffee has become as ubiquitous as saying 'yes' to your boss. People consume it everywhere, at almost any time.
By default, coffee has become the 'yes' drink when trying to pursuade, second only to Jack Daniel's.
He who knows best knows how little he knows. - Thomas Jefferson
Yes.
Rediculous is ridiculous!
That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard!
...no, wait, I see what you mean, now!
{slurp}
"It's a wonderful idea. But it doesn't work." -- Tad Danielewski
I'be been getting it all wrong all these years. I've been thinking beer was the persuasion drink. Sheeeeit...
"He uses statistics as a drunken man uses lampposts...for support rather than illumination." - Andrew Lang
Well ... if you say so.
Personally, I generally find it makes me quite irritable after too much. Other people generally seem way too slow.
I'm a pot-a-day kind of man, and I loved my Senseo which runs overtime every morning. I have to think and type up to 2000 words every morning, and the days I am out of coffee are the days I don't think straight. It might be an addiction, but who knows.
I would have to say that coffee does NOT make me a yes-man, as I've always been anti-authority and loved playing Devil's advocate. Maybe the article writer is confused; coffee might bring out our most consistent opinion or process. Does coffee make leaders more leader-like, and followers more follower-like? I'd say so.
When I have performed public speaknig engagements recently, the coffee buzz always makes me a better speaker (and calmer, actually). I wonder if caffeine, the drug, just puts us into our most comfortable role as many drugs do (including following others if that is how we're designed).
...and I'm always fighting against my coworkers and management...
Maybe it's for the best. Anything else would be too much Invasion of the Body Snatchers for my tastes...
Do not look into laser with remaining eye.
So if coffee is a yes-drink...and alcohol is a yes-drink...screw pheromones. We need to start buying women coffee martinis. There's the real liquid panty remover.
I knew there was some reason I had an insatiable desire to see "Akeelah and the Bee"...
Real men don't get out of bed for anything less than high powered stimulants.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methcathinone
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amphetamine
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methylphenidate
[Fuck Beta]
o0t!
And obviously I haven't had my coffee yet 'cause my spelling in the above post is horrific. *sigh* Time to find my mug.
"He uses statistics as a drunken man uses lampposts...for support rather than illumination." - Andrew Lang
People drink coffee at ALL hours of the day so I am not sure how much moving ads to the morning is going to matter. Not to mention that there are less people watching TV in the morning.
Me: Will you marry me?
Girlfriend: Hell no!
Me: Aww, please will you marry me?
Girlfriend: Dammit! I said no!
Me: Okay, how about a nice espresso (or two)?
Girlfriend: Okay sure.
(Ten minutes later)
Me: Will you marry me?
Girlfriend: Well, that makes a lot of sense now.
Me: (Giggles).
Three years later, I need coffee to stay awake with a wife, a kid, and another on the way.
Damn you coffee!
"It's a tarp!" -- Dyslexic Admiral Ackbar
FTFA:
" should schedule adverts for times when people are likely to be consuming caffeine, such as breakfast time."
I personally either "Mute" the TV or switch to a P in P when the stupid ads arrive. Unique ads are less annoying. I spent my last 4 yrs in the US switching repeatedly to PBS (and frequently remaining on that channel and dumping the movie/news) whenever ads arrive.
If this coffee issue is true, it is useful for smart companies and advertisers and not to the bulk of the market like McD*n*lds, B*stB*y, and other junk ads. Any one sees this in the coming elections ads?
yes it is.
My boss like giving me coffee
I may not drink coffee, but I've had my fair share of caffeine (>70% cocoa chocolates and breakfast teas). It doesn't make people persuadable. Being stupid makes people persuadable.
OTOH, it could just be that I'm abnormally oppositional.
... our new coffee overlords! (mod -1 for "predictable")
--- Attorneys Assisting Citizen-Soldiers & Families -
The article doesn't say what kind of "persuasive argument" it was. If it was a logical argument, then this study boils down to "people with two cups of coffee in them follow logic better".
What bothers me more is that the topics chosen are highly emotional ones. People get so fanatical about them that they resort to assassination and fire bombing. The study purports to show that people changed their minds about euthanasia and abortions. Would you, in repsonse to a single argument from a stranger? Would anyone you know?
I guess we are 'goto hell men'. :)
---- Booth was a patriot ----
is this is a reason, why bookstores contain coffee shops?
I noticed several times myself, that after a latte,
I'm more likely to buy a book.
Well, coffee - that is the 100 % pure variety - does make a person feel fresh and alert.
But usually, I have found the coffee powder we get in the market contain over 40% chicory (caffene?). Only 60% is coffee powder. So how can one conclusively prove that it is the coffee which is causing the desired symptoms and not the other ingredient ?
Linux Help
for all things on Linux
YOU: "Want to go out to the club, have a few drinks ?"
HER: "No, I don't drink..."
YOU: "Want to go have a few cups of coffee then ?"
HER: "Sure why not."
Wanna fight ? Bend over, stick your head up your ass, and fight for air.
It does take a few cups to persuade me to come to work in the morning. Then a few more to persuade me to stop refreshing slashdot and start working.
I support the separation of oil and state.
And you only THOUGHT humans couldn't be zombified.
Bwuhahahahahahaha!!!!!
Knowledge is how to play a game, intelligence is how to win, wisdom is knowing what game to play.
They better sell those "can't change channels during commercial breaks" TV-s with lots of coffee then.
Also, to make sure this works, not only should ads be aired while we drink coffee, they need to make sure we can only buy it during those times, and if they offer money back guarantee, only use it and return it
during those times.
-- fast rewind 10 years --
"You hate commercials don't you. They are a pain to watch, we all feel that way. But that's over with! Presenting the new TV-chair 3000, ultra comfortable and accomodating to your body's shape, it injects you intravenous with caffeine, drugs and alchohol and all other essential ingredients to make those ads a pleasure to watch. Order now, and if you did, we know you'll order again..."
According to an Australian study, our geek wonder-drink of choice might turn us into yes-men.
Try stating it this way:
According to an Australian study, our geek wonder-drink of choice might turn them into yes-women.
Next time you're hitting that bar think of buying her a drink as the reason for following up with a coffee later.
I doubt this will impact how marketers choose their time slots. The response of people to ads is already one of the most observed and studied topics on the planet. If people are more receptive to ads in the morning, you can bet the marketing folks have already cottoned on to that fact.
There is still the problem of timing. Some groups of people aren't targetable at the times they're most likely to be receptive. But ad firms are making inroads. I was surprised (not pleasantly) to discover bulletin boards in my son's (private) school advertising stuff. I knew there were ads in the TV-based morning update at the public school he used to attend. Now I guess it's becoming unavoidable.
This space for rent.
Associate Professor Pradeep Nathan of Monash University, an expert in behavioural neuroscience who was not involved in the research, says caffeine stimulates the central nervous system including the brain, where it affects several neurotransmitters.
The Melbourne-based researcher says it improves memory and makes us pay closer attention to tasks at hand.
"It does improve attention and it can improve memory so by being more attentive and remembering your attitude to a particular thing may change," he says.
"If you're more attentive, yes [it does have implications for advertising]. Advertising works on the principle of getting people's attention, you want to get as many people interested in your ads as possible."
Caffeine's great stuff for getting perked up and fired up, and I have been an addict since I can remember. I've tried to quit any number of times, but the mintue I find myself getting tired, I'm off to find java.
That said, there's a drawback to it: developing a tolerance. As time passes, I need more and more of it, which is fine if you're the operator of my local coffee stand but is bad for my wallet and bad for my attention span. Let's not forget the jitters you can get if you have too much or the withdrawl headaches you get if you cut your consumption too quickly.
I seriously doubt coffee can simply bend your will and make you more susceptible to anything, other than having more coffee.
GetOuttaMySpace - The Anti-Social Network
Maybe all yes-men drink coffee.
Except for ending slavery, the Nazis, communism, & securing American independence, war has never solved anything.
This is not very different from saying that people with presbyopia are more likely to be persuaded by print advertising when they are wearing their reading glasses. Or that people are more likely to be persuaded by loud commercials than soft ones. Or that people who listen to radio are more likely to be persuaded by radio ads than people who do not listen to radio.
Obviously you are more likely to be persuaded by a message to which you are paying attention, focussing on, are awake for, etc. etc. That is, if the message is persuasive. You're also more likely to exercise critical acumen on a message to which you are paying attention.
This doesn't mean caffeine is some evil zombie-making, will-sapping, mysterious persuasion drug. It just means, surprise--in some situations caffeine makes us more alert.
It certainly does not mean "coffee makes us say 'yes.'" Try another study in which people are asked to read a contract containing some sneaky buried one-sided details that work against their interests. Ask them to review it with and without coffee. I'll bet that coffee helps them notice those details... and that in this case, coffee will "make them say no."
"How to Do Nothing," kids activities, back in print!
Maybe it's the reverse?
Without coffee I'm grumpy in the morning and more likely to be a no-man. Coffee just turns me normal.
because you know you want that McMuffin(TM) washed down with a cool glass of refreshing Coke(r) at lunchtime
I guess that explains why Nigerian scammers send faxes to the workplace overnight for people to read in the morning ;-)
*slurps coffee* "Oooh I can be a millionaire by Friday???"
Saskboy's blog is good. 9 out of 10 dentists agree.
They in for a big disappointment - I know I'll find ads no less detestable after a cup of coffee than I do any other time of the day.
I don't really mind that businesses have products and services to sell, what I mind is that their efforts to sell them are so invasive, and so pervasive, that it is a complete turnoff.
as one of the most contrary and authority suspicious people in my geographical area, I can say with authority that while I'm more likely to get my work done with caffeine in my system, it does nothing other than heighten my natural mood, whatever that may be.
Maybe it's less about caffeine making most people yes men than the fact that most people are naturally yes men and caffeine heightens that tendency.
VLC FOR MAC IS DYING! IF YOU DEVELOP, PLEASE SAVE IT!!
This study is of people who actually take the time to try reading the advertisement. In this day and age how many people actually read advertisements? I like the rest of the real world skip them and go on to the interesting content. If the PR people want to get my attention it takes the inclusion of interesting factual information. On the other hand it is nice to know that coffee helps when I am investigating something!!!
"I myself am made entirely of flaws, stitched together with good intentions."
After all a martini is so obvious but this is safe. After all coffee sobers you up right? And the strong taste of the coffee makes it very easy to increase the amount of alcohol so the drink can easily be a tripple scotch. If that doesn't get her hot and bothered nothing will. Well nothing legal anyway.
MMO Quests are like orgasms:
You may solo them, I prefer them in a group.
Lack of sleep and the asinine ideas of our 'superiors' turns us into yes men.
When you're working 16 hours a day, for crap pay, and your boss comes up with another brilliant idea, you eventually reach the point where you sarcastically start saying, "Yes! THAT'S A FREAKING BRILLIANT IDEA!"
The problem is, you've been awake for far too long, your body is starting to decompose as it hasn't had time to repair itself, and because of this, your weak attempt at sarcasm is taken at face value for truth.
In short, coffee is man's proof of divine origin. NO BLOOD FOR OIL! Fight rising coffee prices - invade middle America!
Okay, here I am on my 4th or 5th cup of coffee, and I disagree, vehemently! So how's that for being a "Yes Man"?
I agree it may make us more apt to listen and understand, but you have to keep in mind, the average person is a sheep. They follow along. Coffee may just make them more likely to listen, so it seems they're more apt to agree.
I think if you take people who tend to not be sheep and give them coffee, they'll just tend to not go along more because they'll actually be listening to the crap that's being shoveled and treat it as such.
But hey, that's just my humble opinion.
Fans of The Shield will of course know that Juicy Fruit is the persuader of choice. Quoth Lt. Jon Kavanaugh "It's a fresh pack..."
Three Squirrels
Yeah, like running out before the local grocery opens. I hate that!
As I sit here, sipping my second cup of coffee for the day, I'm thinking back to earlier this morning when, like every morning, I read my email and my Bloglines as I drink my first cup of coffee. Now, I always have my coffee first thing -- OK, maybe second thing -- in the morning. (If you can believe it, I'm usually even coordinated enough to make a passable latte) In my perpetually sleep-deprived state, I'll believe anything right after I get up.
It's not the coffee that makes me suggestible, it's the sleepiness.If it's not one thing it's your mother.
...that I welcome our new dark roasted overlords.
And then they can run toilet paper ads midday after people are on their 7th cup.
I knew Starbucks was up to evil! Combine their tasty caffiene drinks and the annoyingly smooth music they play and it turns everyone into yuppies!
If this were true then George Bush should have swept Seattle in the last two elections.
This is my sig. There are many like it but this one is mine.
... I had more counterexamples in my last meeting than were probably in their whole study.
I'm afraid to say that al those who say "I know it's not true, it doesn't happen to me!" might be deluding themselves. There are tons of examples of people not aware of the processes that run on in the background of thier own minds. For example, in "Blink" by Malcolm Gladwell, he goes into how we make snap impressions based on previous experiences. In one particular case he makes an example of how people "come up" with the solution to an experiment "on their own" after being hinted at the solution. All of them were fully convinced of their independance of their solution. He also gives examples of those who were convinced to walk slower or otherwise alter their behaviour because of words read from a list. If asked, those people would also say they had no external influence and decided to do their actions on their own. Even if we look at general psychology, and internal hidden causes of why people enact certain behaviours because they're acting on previous stimuli, not the stimulus proviking them right now. Being attracted to a mate who has qualities of a favorite parent, or learned passive aggressiveness or impulsiveness. People, it could be argued, are vastly unaware of the causes of their own behaviours and we would be surprised how reactive we really are as beings.
People drink coffee at ALL hours of the day so I am not sure how much moving ads to the morning is going to matter. Not to mention that there are less people watching TV in the morning.
This is because the mind is not fully functioning during that time of day just as the coffee is starting to circulate through the body. We think we're alert and able to make clear headed decisions, but in reality, we're as dumb as nails in the morning; that goes as well for late nights. This is why we'll see lots more ads in the morning, because they are applying the same logic as infomercials to traditional ads. Those are the two times during the day we're incoherent enough that sales pitches actually work.
Live forever, or die trying.
This is a no-brainer. Of course stimulants reduce our resistance to advertising. If nothing else, they increase the sensation of pleasure and euphoria. This alone will decrease the average person's resistance to advertising messages.
Why do you think that coffee shops are embedded in every Barnes & Noble and Border's book store?
A secondary effect is that stimulants also increase anxiety. Because of the gift giving tradition and material reward systems built into consumer culture, we associate material gain with happiness and pleasure. Therefore, in states of increased anxiety, one of the ways we release this anxiety is to increase our consumption. "Do something nice for yourself. Buy something nice."
This isn't overt mind control. These factors don't affect people 100% of the time. Just like evolution, a 1-3% increase in the statistical average will produce huge aggregate effects over time.
I'd get in a lot less trouble at work because I would just agree. I'm addicted t coffee and caffeine, but I definitely am not a yes-man. I may not be a rebel without a cause, but I will stand up and make my point.
I know alot of other caffeine takers that are the same way. Caffeine does make us more alert, which allows us to be able to catch something that's more persuasive. I would think that people would be more impressionable at the end of the day when they're tired and hungry and want someone to think for them so if someone says that "The sky is green, scientists say it's true, so it must be" then you're more likely to think that. Your defenses are down when you're beat.
That which does not kill me only postpones the inevitable.
This is how I read the report.
1) Don't drink coffee.
2) Expect to be spammed to death around coffee times.
3) Co-workers will be more susceptible when I See them with thier coffee.
4) Marketing companies suggest putting coffee into foodstuffs/water supply (give them time).
Coffee gets you high and puts you in a good mood. That makes you a lot more likely to say yes to anything. And write long rambling emails that you will soon regret when you start to crash.
in the tapwater used to make the coffee! This is about the only way tapwater gets consumed anymore.
That which does not kill her only prolongs my agony.
Coffee hypes you up, you're more susceptable to rash decisions.
and poor spelling
And here I was thinking that beer was what made you agree to anything!
I'm not sure I believe this story...
sip
Wait a minute, yes I do.
Coming soon - pyrogyra
"Caffeine is a central nervous system stimulant, and is used both recreationally and medically to restore mental alertness when unusual weakness or drowsiness occurs. Doses of 100-200 mg result in increased alertness and wakefulness, faster and clearer flow of thought, increased focus, and better general body coordination."
Caffeine has these effects on everyone.
I beleive you are generalizing the (hypothesized) behavior of a certain type of drugs with the behavior of caffeine. They are not the same.
"The government grants you rights, not the other way around."-- beav007. Yes, these people really exist...
"because it suggests that they should schedule adverts for times when people are likely to be consuming caffeine, such as breakfast time.".
Yeah because Starbucks isn't full all day long.
"Oops, my theory was successfully predictive, wasn't it?"
Not unless you predicted that you'd talk out of your ass, and act like you knew somehing about the subject when you don't.
"Alertness != calm. Everyone is made alert by caffeine, but only certain types of people become calmer."
NO. I made the statement pretty clearly before, but I guess I have to say it more simply.
Sympathomimetics (which caffeine IS NOT) have the behavior you describe. These drugs are the kind typically prescribed for ADHD, and DO have the effects you describe.
Caffeine, while having some sympathomimetic effects, is NOT in the same group. It has a different chemical action and DOES NOT result in the effects you describe.
THEY ARE NOT THE SAME. Do you understand now?
"The government grants you rights, not the other way around."-- beav007. Yes, these people really exist...
Coffee increases my response times and reflexes for deploying my middle finger.
I will however agree that coffee makes my job much easier to tolerate, but there is the occasional Jerk-Off (The non-coffee drinking early riser) that has to have some kind of stupid problem with his system before my first cup of delicious, sweet, caffinated goodness.
Improves my mood? Yes.
Makes me a mindless subordinate? Not a chance.
Maybe they should check their research panel for individuality and gonads.
The point is there is evidence that indicates that people with ADHD react differently to stimulants than most people. For instance, I currently take Adderall, which is amphetemine. How many people do you know that can take amphetemine and go to sleep less than two hours later. Probably find it is only people with ADHD or narcolepsy. I feel no effects from Vivran. You are right about the standard effects for these drugs, but a drug like penicillin cures bacterial infections in most people and kills a small number of people.
I guess what I am trying to say is not everyone reacts to drugs or other chemicals the same. If they did, doctors would have stopped joking about what they do being "practice" long ago.
This signiture copied from somewhere.
First off, they should start advertising the health benefits of coffee or tea enemas while people are consuming their morning caffeine. Once you have your audience primed, that is if you can persuade people to put coffee up their ass, they'll buy anything.
"You'll get nothing, and you'll like it!"
... oh hell you mean in real life... with a real woman!
There is no place like slashdot...There is no place like slashdot
Let's get back to stuff that matters, not stuff that will never happen!
I only look human.
My mother is a halfling and my dad is an ogre, so that makes me an Ogreling
I had a "bad" substitute teacher. The kind that tried to teach. She insisted that I had the wrong answer to a logic problem:
Fact: Susy is unhappy when it rains.
Fact: Susy is happy when the sun is shining.
Given these facts, what can you say about these conclusions, if anything:
Conclusion: The sun is shining. Answer: You can say that Susy is happy.
Conclusion: Susy is unhappy. Dilema: Here is where sub insisted that it must be raining because Susy was unhappy. I concluded that it might be cloudy but not raining and I just "bitchslapped" Susy into next week. Sub was not impressed with my logic.
Just for the record, A-->B does not mean B-->A
I only look human.
My mother is a halfling and my dad is an ogre, so that makes me an Ogreling
The hardest tasks you have when trying to persuade someone are:
So, perhaps coffee is useful for persuasion. The connection between persuasion and "yes-men", though, is spurrious at best. Essentially, TFA is saying that caffeine helps people listen to -- and makes them slightly more open-minded towards -- arguments.
Listening to and being open-minded toward arguments is a good thing. In fact, it's the very antithesis of being a yes-man. Yes-men don't process arguments, they simply go along with authority. TFA is talking about the former, not the latter.
Apparently, while caffeine enhances the capacity for rational thought, any given Slashdot story deadens such capacity entirely.
We may not imagine how our lives could be more frustrating and complex—but Congress can. – Cullen Hightower
Our "geek wonder-drink of choice..." Bawls
"Don't meddle in the affairs of a patent dragon, for thou art tasty and good with ketchup." ~ohcrapitssteve
I miss the meeting entirely and so never have the chance to be a yes man.
On a separate note, I don't think many people are watching television while they drink their morning coffee. More likely they are reading a magazine, a newspaper or at work. So I don't think television advertising could benefit from this. Perhaps we'll see the price of newspaper advertising increase as a result of this study. But most likely not.
Read my short stories - You won't regret it.
"Would you like to buy another coffee? First one's free!"
My wife drinks LOTS of coffee, and she hardly ever says yes.
Caffeinated beer is what the marketing people want you to drink. Or perhaps fermented coffee?
I can throw myself at the ground, and miss.
First hit from Google says:
3/4 oz dark creme de cacao
3/4 oz coffee liqueur
1/2 oz brandy
6 - 8 oz hot coffee
1 1/2 oz whipped cream
...is available here