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Study: Caffeine Significantly Enhances Problem-Solving Abilities But Not Creativity

Mar 9, 2020 by News Staff / Source

Caffeine increases the ability to focus and problem solve, but it doesn’t stimulate creativity, according to new research published in the journal Consciousness and Cognition.

One cup of coffee contains nearly 100 mg of caffeine. Image credit: Fxxu.

Caffeine is the most widely consumed psychotropic drug in the world, with numerous studies documenting the effects of caffeine on people’s alertness, vigilance, mood, concentration, and attentional focus.

The effects of caffeine on creative thinking, however, remain unknown.

“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,” said Dr. Darya Zabelina, a researcher in the Department of Psychological Science at the University of Arkansas.

“While the cognitive benefits of caffeine — increased alertness, improved vigilance, enhanced focus and improved motor performance — are well established, the stimulant’s affect on creativity is less known.”

In the study, Dr. Zabelina and her colleague, Dr. Paul Silvia from the Department of Psychology at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, differentiate convergent from divergent thinking.

“The former is defined as seeking a specific solution to a problem, for example, the correct answer,” they explained.

“The latter is characterized by idea generation where a large set of apt, novel or interesting responses would be suitable.”

For the study, 80 volunteers were randomly given either a 200 mg caffeine pill, equivalent to one strong cup of coffee, or a placebo.

The participants were then tested on standard measures of convergent and divergent thinking, working memory and mood.

Caffeine was shown to improve convergent thinking, while consuming it had no significant impact on divergent thinking.

The compound did not significantly affect working memory, but test subjects who took it did report feeling less sad.

“The 200 mg enhanced problem solving significantly, but had no effect on creative thinking,” Dr. Zabelina said.

“It also didn’t make it worse, so keep drinking your coffee; it won’t interfere with these abilities.”

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