The Relationship Between Self-Reported Caffeine Usage and Physiological Arousal Measured Through Skin Conductance During the Stroop Test.
Primary Investigator (PI) Name
Ebony Glover
Department
RCHSS – Psychological Science
Abstract
Caffeine is a stimulant known to increase sympathetic nervous system activity, which plays a key role in attention and physiological arousal. To assess this relationship, this study will use skin conductance as a reliable index of physiological arousal. Understanding how caffeine consumption relates to arousal can provide insight into how substances influence cognitive control and attention during the Stroop test. This correlational study will include a sample of 35 college students (ages 18–23). Participants will complete a self-report survey assessing daily caffeine intake (in mg), time since last consumption, and form of caffeine consumed, prior to testing. Skin conductance sensors will be placed on participants' fingers to record electrodermal activity and arousal levels. Frequency and amplitude of skin conductance responses will be extracted at baseline and compared to responses during the Stroop task. All participants will provide informed consent, and data will be collected anonymously. The projected collection is October and will be analyzed and interpreted. It is expected that self-reported caffeine consumption will positively correlate with physiological arousal during the Stroop test, and that higher arousal will be associated with better task performance (i.e., faster reaction times and fewer errors). Specifically, high caffeine users are predicted to exhibit higher skin conductance levels and improved Stroop performance compared to low or no caffeine users. Participants who consumed caffeine more recently are expected to show greater arousal and better performance than those with longer intervals since their last intake. If supported, these findings would suggest that caffeine consumption is associated with heightened arousal and enhanced cognitive control during attention-demanding tasks. Such results have implications for understanding how caffeine use influences attention and performance in real-world academic settings. Future research could extend this work by examining brainwave activity via EEG and including larger samples with both caffeine and non-caffeine users.
Disciplines
Cognitive Psychology
The Relationship Between Self-Reported Caffeine Usage and Physiological Arousal Measured Through Skin Conductance During the Stroop Test.
Caffeine is a stimulant known to increase sympathetic nervous system activity, which plays a key role in attention and physiological arousal. To assess this relationship, this study will use skin conductance as a reliable index of physiological arousal. Understanding how caffeine consumption relates to arousal can provide insight into how substances influence cognitive control and attention during the Stroop test. This correlational study will include a sample of 35 college students (ages 18–23). Participants will complete a self-report survey assessing daily caffeine intake (in mg), time since last consumption, and form of caffeine consumed, prior to testing. Skin conductance sensors will be placed on participants' fingers to record electrodermal activity and arousal levels. Frequency and amplitude of skin conductance responses will be extracted at baseline and compared to responses during the Stroop task. All participants will provide informed consent, and data will be collected anonymously. The projected collection is October and will be analyzed and interpreted. It is expected that self-reported caffeine consumption will positively correlate with physiological arousal during the Stroop test, and that higher arousal will be associated with better task performance (i.e., faster reaction times and fewer errors). Specifically, high caffeine users are predicted to exhibit higher skin conductance levels and improved Stroop performance compared to low or no caffeine users. Participants who consumed caffeine more recently are expected to show greater arousal and better performance than those with longer intervals since their last intake. If supported, these findings would suggest that caffeine consumption is associated with heightened arousal and enhanced cognitive control during attention-demanding tasks. Such results have implications for understanding how caffeine use influences attention and performance in real-world academic settings. Future research could extend this work by examining brainwave activity via EEG and including larger samples with both caffeine and non-caffeine users.