(Science News) — Coffee and tea are two beverages commonly-consumed around the world. In Western societies, coffee is associated with greater arousal than tea. According to a new study, published in the journal Consciousness and Cognition, even looking at something that reminds of coffee can stimulate our brain, mimicking the physical effects of ingesting the beverage.
“Coffee is one of the most popular beverages and a lot is known about its physical effects. Much less is known about its psychological meaning — in other words, how even seeing reminders of it can influence how we think,” said co-author Dr. Sam Maglio, a researcher at the University of Toronto Scarborough, Canada.
Dr. Maglio and his colleague, Monash University’s Dr. Eugene Chan, looked at an effect called priming, through which exposure to even subtle cues can influence our thoughts and behavior. (…)