Psychology and Caffeine

Caffeinism: The Psychology of Caffeine, Coffee-Drinking, And Coffee-Addicts Coffee has been generally considered as an addicting drink, primarily because it contains the vital ingredient, caffeine, which is known for its ability to stimulate the central nervous system. Despite this common knowledge, there is still insufficient literature and studies that will provide empirical evidence that indeed, coffee has psychological effects on the individual.

Thus, this paper collates studies and related literature that proves empirically how coffee, due to its caffeine content, is a psychoactive drug that elicits psychological effects from the individual. Studies looking into the affective dimension of coffee to drinkers show that there are three dimensions where "caffeinism" or coffee-drinking is characterized: coffee's psychoactive properties, predilection to substance dependence of coffee drinkers, and reinforcing behavior resulting to coffee (caffeine) addiction.

Coffee's psychoactive properties stem from the argument and observation that "low doses of caffeine have been shown to increase positive mood states, with higher doses leading to more and more positive mood states." The significant relationship between coffee drinking and affective psychological changes is illustrated as synonymous with drug addiction: the greater the dosage and exposure to the substance, the greater the increase in effect or changes in the subject.

In the process, the individual experiences tolerance to coffee-drinking, identified as "the progressive reduction in responsiveness that sometimes accompanies repeated exposure to a drug" or substance. This phase marks the effectiveness of coffee as a psychoactive drug, where tolerance is manifested by the indifferent dependence of the individual to coffee drinking. Another dimension of caffeine and coffee addiction is seen in the process of substance dependence.

As stated earlier, tolerance to coffee-drinking later develops to dependence, where coffee-drinking no longer becomes an activity, but later becomes a habit to the individual. Accompanying substance dependence is physical and psychological dependence to coffee. Physical dependence is illustrated by studies that show "hypersensitivity to adenosine after abrupt withdrawal of caffeine," while psychological effects include "inability to stop using the drug" after increased tolerance and dependency and abrupt introduction to withdrawal. These collated findings does not, as one study remarks, prove that indeed, coffee increased substance dependence in an individual.

However, strong relationship between the two exists, thereby opening possibilities that such process occurs (substance dependence) among coffee-drinkers, especially, coffee addicts. Lastly, coffee is said to have psychological effects on the individual through the manifestation of reinforced behavior. Reinforced behavior applied in this context is the empirical results of a study that.