The Communicative Effects of a Cup of Coffee on Dyadic Conversation

Abstract

Findings from previous studies have suggested that environmental factors affect the quality of communication. Although the impact of several environmental factors such as fixed-and semifixed-feature elements has been investigated, the present pre-registered study focuses on a more casual environmental factor: the presence of a cup of coffee. In the present study, 118 non-student participants engaged in a dyadic, face-to-face, unstructured conversation with a stranger of the same gender. Participants with a cup of coffee reported an identical level of rapport (a type of close and positive communication), friendliness, vigor-activity, and tension-anxiety as participants with a cup of water (control group 1). They also reported higher rapport friendliness and vigor-activity than participants in the no drink condition (control group 2), though the difference in rapport did not reach the level of significance. However, for rapport, the positive impact of coffee was salient in individuals who held a strong belief in the communicative effect of coffee. The findings indicate that a cup of coffee can be an environmental factor that potentially enhances the quality of communication.