Ever wondered why Italians make such good Don Juans? It could have something to with the country's famously good coffee.
According to an Australian University study, coffee makes people more inclined to agree with your views, or be persuaded to do something you want.
"There's some molecule in coffee that works on the mind's persuasion-agreement mechanism," said lead researcher Pearl Martin of Queensland University. Martin and her team didn't try to get people into bed, of course, but set out to to change their minds about hot topics like abortion and euthanasia.
"The test group, which discussed the issues over a nice steaming espresso or capuccino, were much more inclined to be flexible or to change their minds completely," Martin said. The study, which was published in the European Journal of
Psychology, also advanced the hypothesis that coffee enhanced receptiveness to arguments through one of its known
properties - an ability to boost concentration.
Martin and her team suggested the new findings could be used by advertisers who might try to put coffee aroma into the paper bearing their ads, or waft the smell of the drink through cinemas. As for those Italian lady killers, if they get hold of
the study they're even more certain to suggest an after-dinner - and hopefully pre-boudoir - espresso.
