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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."."
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?
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.