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Caffeine Boosts Problem-Solving Ability but Not Creativity, Study Indicates

posted by Fnord666 on Friday March 06 2020, @07:46PM   Printer-friendly
from the coffee++ dept.

martyb writes:

Caffeine boosts problem-solving ability but not creativity, study indicates:

"In Western cultures, caffeine is stereotypically associated with creative occupations and lifestyles, from writers and their coffee to programmers and their energy drinks, and there's more than a kernel of truth to these stereotypes," wrote Darya Zabelina, assistant professor of psychology and first author of the study recently published in the journal Consciousness and Cognition.

While the cognitive benefits of caffeine -- increased alertness, improved vigilance, enhanced focus and improved motor performance -- are well established, she said, the stimulant's affect on creativity is less known.

In the paper, Zabelina differentiates "convergent" from "divergent" thinking. The former is defined as seeking a specific solution to a problem, for example, the "correct" answer. The latter is characterized by idea generation where a large set of apt, novel or interesting responses would be suitable. Caffeine was shown to improve convergent thinking in the study, while consuming it had no significant impact on divergent thinking.

Journal Reference:
Darya L. Zabelina, Paul J. Silvia. Percolating ideas: The effects of caffeine on creative thinking and problem solving. Consciousness and Cognition, 2020; 79: 102899 DOI: 10.1016/j.concog.2020.102899

I wonder if she drank coffee to help her come up with that conclusion?

Original Submission

 
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  • (Score: 1, Troll) by Ethanol-fueled on Friday March 06 2020, @08:13PM (4 children)

    by Ethanol-fueled (2792) on Friday March 06 2020, @08:13PM (#967619) Homepage

    " from writers and their coffee to programmers and their energy drinks "

    I've seen plenty of engineers and programmers who drink coffee and keep their trusty thermoses and mugs at the ready on their desks, but I have never in my many years in the 'biz seen a scientist, physicist, engineer, or programmer drink a fucking "energy drink."

    Who I have seen drink energy drinks in the 'biz, though, are low-level and mid-level nonwhite technicians -- the kind who drive old Preludes and have unpronounceable names and vapes the size of beer cans belching blueberry-flavored juice vapor.

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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday March 06 2020, @08:51PM (1 child)

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday March 06 2020, @08:51PM (#967647)

    Didn't know that being fat, unemployed, and drunk was a "biz".

    • (Score: 1) by Ethanol-fueled on Friday March 06 2020, @09:13PM

      by Ethanol-fueled (2792) on Friday March 06 2020, @09:13PM (#967657) Homepage

      I am on furlough because my employer, Boston Dynamics, is in life-support mode now. But don't you worry about me, this fatass can run in 6-mile spurts.

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday March 06 2020, @09:05PM (1 child)

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday March 06 2020, @09:05PM (#967655)

    Energy drinks of the red bull type contain taurine which is a caffeine sensitiser. You can get some pretty horrific results if you drink a taurine base energy drink(which will has some caffeine) and then have lots of coffee after.