Caffeinated beverages are a popular source of energy that works to increase reaction times and improve awareness. The experimenter’s hypothesis that people who drink two or more caffeine drinks a day have a faster reaction time than those who drink zero to one caffeine drinks a day.
In this study 14 adults from the University of Maryland University College Psych 300 class participated in an online reaction test. The participants were divided into two groups based off the results of a self-reported demographics questionnaire: consumption ranging from 0-1 servings and 2-5 servings. The reaction time of each participant was evaluated utilizing an online fastball simulator. The first ten scores were recorded for each participant and a mean
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Durlach (2002) conducted two tests in order to determine if caffeine is effective before this time (p. 433-442). The participants’ reaction times were tested immediately after consumption and 40 minutes after consumption (Durlach, 2002, p. 433-442). In these experiments, the positive effects of caffeine can be seen early after consumption (Durlach, 2002, p. 433-442). Durlach (2002) also tested the participants ability to avoid distractions which also showed improvement (p. 433-442). This indicates that caffeine may not need to take 30-40 minutes to become effective with both improving reaction times and a participant’s ability to stay on …show more content…
Most studies on caffeine have been conducted in a lab setting and only focusing on the effects shortly after consumption. Smith (2005) wanted to see how caffeine affected people at work by studying the number of accidents a person has with and without caffeine consumption (p. 441-445). The studies indicate caffeine can improve attention and psychomotor skills not only in a lab setting, but also in real-life (Smith, 2005, p. 441-445). Higher consumption of caffeine is better than low consumption compared to no caffeine (Smith, 2005, p. 441-445). It is also proven that caffeine is a way to sustain operational efficiency (Smith, 2005, p. 441-445). To eliminate other interpretations of the data, other studies must be conducted (Smith, 2005, p. 441-445). Smith (2005) suggested that higher caffeine consumption results could be contributed by more work breaks (p. 441-445). This study did not have a precise way of measuring caffeine intake and could therefore affect the outcome of the study (Smith, 2005, p. 441-445). Even with these issues, it is beneficial to continue studies on caffeine in the