新研究：咖啡能提高你解决问题的能力

Famous authors and artists are commonly photographed alongside a trusty mug of coffee, but that cup of joe is more likely to help the Great American Manager. Caffeine, it turns out, does not improve creativity, but it significantly enhances problem-solving, according to a new study.

著名作家和艺术家拍照时旁边经常会有一杯咖啡，但这杯咖啡更有可能会给这位美国好经理带来帮助。一项新的研究表明，咖啡因并不能提高创造力，但能显著提高解决问题的能力。

This is news, given how strongly we associate coffee with creative occupations and lifestyles. The study, published today in Consciousness and Cognition, followed 80 participants after they consumed either a placebo or 200 mg of caffeine—the equivalent of 12 ounces of coffee—and then tracked their problem-solving, creative idea generation, working memory, and mood.

考虑到我们平时以为咖啡和创造性职业以及生活方式有很大联系，所以这是个新发现。这项研究现在发表在《Consciousness and Cognition》上，在80名参与者分别喝了无效对照剂和200 mg咖啡因（相当于12盎司咖啡）之后，跟踪观察他们解决问题的能力、创意的形成、工作记忆力和情绪。

While problem-solving abilities improved significantly, the caffeine had no effect on memory or creativity. Subjects also reported feeling “less sad.”

解决问题的能力显著提高，但咖啡因对记忆力或创造力毫无影响。研究对象也说“忧伤感并未减少”。

Previous studies have shown that caffeine improves alertness, focus, attention, and motor skills, but little research existed on creativity.

此前的研究表明咖啡因能提高机敏度、专注力、注意力和运动能力，但关于创造力的研究很少。

This means that caffeine helps some kinds of thinking, specifically convergent thinking, such as when you need correct answers, for instance, while taking a GRE or MCAT or recalibrating a budget.

这就意味着咖啡因有助于思考，特别是收敛性思维，比如你需要正确答案的时候，像参加GRE或MCAT考试，或者重新调整预算。

It will not help you in the divergent thinking of creativity, such as brainstorming a novel plot or imagining a new design. “It also doesn’t make it worse,” notes lead author Darya Zabelina, assistant psychology professor at the University of Arkansas, “so keep drinking your coffee. It won’t interfere.”

它在创造性发散思维方面对你没有帮助，比如脑洞大开地设计新情节或者思考新的设计。研究的第一作者Darya Zabelina是阿肯色大学的心理学助理教授，她指出：“咖啡也不会减弱这方面的能力，你可以继续喝，没有任何影响。”