Abstract

This study’s purpose is to determine whether or not chewing mint flavored gum while test taking will result in better test scores, as a result of lowered stress, than test taking without chewing any gum at all. The participant’s heart rate will be monitored while answering a total of 5 math questions, and recalling 10 words, while not chewing gum. I will then study their heart rate while they chew mint gum, and I will ask them 5 different math questions and give them a new list of 10 words to recall. I will time both tests. The results will be compared to find if there is a difference in heart rate.  If there is a difference of at least 25%, the study will be a success and will help with future test taking.

The Benefits of Chewing Mint Gum While Test Taking

Throughout my academic career- including elementary through high school, teachers often said chewing peppermint gum was a helpful tool when learning, studying and test taking. Often times before a big test, for example the Regents exams, we would walk into the gymnasium, lined with desks. On the desk next to the test booklet and pencil, there would be a piece of gum. There have been a number of studies supporting this theory in several different aspects, focusing on the relations of chewing gum- mint or flavorless- to memory recall, reaction time, alertness, mood and many other brain activities.

Studies of chewing gum and cognitive function have gotten very popular in recent years. It has been found to increase blood flow to the cerebral cortex (Rickman, Johnson & Miles, 2012) as well as activating several other areas of the brain that are used for motor and attention, like the basal ganglia, cerebellum, and thalamus (Hirano, Obata, Takashi, Tachibana & Kuroiwa, 2013).  It has been questioned that it may increase blood flow to the hippocampus as well, because these areas are all connected. Andrew Smith did a study on the effects of chewing gum and found that, compared to the subjects who didn’t chew gum during the study; the subjects who did chew gum had higher heart rates and cortisol levels, which is a hormone that helps the body under stress. He also found that chewing affects the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems (Smith, 2009). However, a different study done at St. Lawrence University on the cognitive advantages of gum chewing concluded that benefits were only achieved when gum was chewed prior to tests. Chewing gum during the test hindered the positive outcome of the tests, possibly because the brain was not able to multitask paying attention and chewing at the same time (Onyper, Carr, Farrar, & Floyd, 2011). I did not find any studies on the effects peppermint has on brain activity.

A large debate on chewing gum is whether or not it increases memory recall or not. The study at St. Lawrence University concluded that chewing gum helped with remembering things like dates, times and places, as long as the gum was chewed before taking in the knowledge. The memory recall lasted at least 30 minutes after the gum was chewed (Onyper, et al., 2011). Experiments done in Cardiff, UK, comparing chewing gum and mint flavored strips, found no real differences between the two when it came to memory recall, but also found that the subjects who didn’t have gum or the mint flavored strips could remember less than those with (Johnson & Miles, 2008). Other studies have found that the smell of mint can improve memory (Moss, 2008). Andrew Smith’s study of effects of chewing gum on cognitive function, mood and physiology found that immediate recall was impaired, as well as accuracy (Smith, 2009). Another study by Andrew Smith also found that chewing gum did not benefit episodic memory (Smith, 2010).

The most noted affects that chewing gum has on the brain seems to revolve around alertness. Chewing gum increases alertness (Smith, 2009).  An experiment on adolescents standardized math scores and chewing gum found that test scores were significantly higher when chewing gum.  It was concluded that this because they were able to pay better attention and be more alert because of the gum (Johnston, Tyler, Stansberry, Moreno & Foreyt, 2011). Another study, a follow up on their previous experiment, found little to no impact from chewing gum on test scores (Allen, Norman & Katz, 2008). Andrew Smith found in an earlier study that chewing gum had a great impact on retaining new information. The study was done with fruit and mint flavored gum. Though neither flavor was more dominant in the study, they both showed better reaction times and concentration (Smith, 2010). However, other studies showed that with faster reaction time comes less accurate answers (Hirano, Obata, Takashi, Tachibana & Kuroiwa, 2013).

Test taking can be stressful. Chewing gum has been found to help lower stress (Yu, Chen, Liu & Zhou, 2013) and relieve anxiety (Hirano, Obata, Takashi, Tachibana & Kuroiwa, 2013).  It is my opinion that this alone could help with test taking.

In conclusion, there are many ways chewing gum can enhance test taking abilities. If done the right way, it can boost your memory and help focus one’s attention on the task at hand. As long as the material on the test is studied well enough before hand, the recall of the information would not be an issue. This research has led me to the conclusion that chewing mint gum, though not necessarily an aide in memory retention, may possibly provide one with enough alertness and stress relief to have better grades on a test than they would without chewing gum. I believe that chewing mint gum will lead to 25% better test scores, a 25% drop in stress levels while test taking, and a 10% faster rate of test taking.

Method

Participant

I will be studying one person in my SUNY Broome Psychology 110 class. They will be either male or female and between the ages of 18 and 60. They will not have chewed any gum at all since they woke up that day.

Materials and Apparatus

In order to perform this study, I will use the Biopac MP40 to measure the heart rate of the participant. The participant will be provided with one piece of mint flavored gum. The student will sit at a desk with two pieces of paper and one pencil, for answering their test questions. I will also need a stopwatch to keep track of how long each test takes, my list of 10 math questions and 20 words to ask the student, along with a pen and paper to record any data.

Procedure

Prior to starting my study, I will explain the reasoning for this study to the student. I will also explain each step of the procedure to them, and gain their permission and consent to perform the study with them as my participant. The student will then sit at a table, and the Biopac MP40 will be attached to the inside of both of their ankles, as well as the inside of their left wrist. The resting heart rate will be measured for 3 minutes. They will then be asked their 5 math questions and write their answers on their first piece of paper, while I time them. Once finished with the math, I will move on to showing them my list of 10 words for 15 seconds. I will then time student while they attempt to recall the words and write them on the back of the first paper. The participant will then be given 3 minutes to return to their resting heart rate. Once it is achieved they will begin chewing their piece of gum, and the questions will be asked again, and timed again, the same as before. Once the study is finished, the participant will be unhooked from the Biopac MP40 and they will be asked if they felt less stressed with or without the chewing gum.

Method of Analysis

Once the tests have been finished, and all data collected, I will be able to compare the information, determining which test was finished quicker, with better accuracy and most of all, with the lower stress level. I believe the test taken while chewing the mint gum will be 25 % more accurate in the math department, and 25% more words will be recalled from the list of words, and the second test will have been finished 10% faster than the first test. Overall, this study will conclude whether or not chewing mint gum while test taking will lower stress levels by 25%, therefore resulting in a better test taking experience.

References

Johnson, A. J., & Miles, C. (2008). Chewing gum and context-dependent memory: The independent roles of chewing gum and mint flavour. British Journal Of Psychology, 99(2), 293-306.

Rickman, S., Johnson, A., & Miles, C. (2013). The impact of chewing gum resistance on immediate free recall. British Journal Of Psychology, 104(3), 339-346.

Yu, H., Chen, X., Liu, J., & Zhou, X. (2013). Gum chewing inhibits the sensory processing and the propagation of stress-related information in a brain network. Plos One, 8(4), e57111. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0057111

Smith, A. (2009). Effects of chewing gum on mood, learning, memory and performance of an intelligence test. Nutritional Neuroscience, 12(2), 81-88. doi:10.1179/147683009X423247

Smith, A. (2010). Effects of chewing gum on cognitive function, mood and physiology in stressed and non-stressed volunteers. Nutritional Neuroscience, 13(1), 7-16. doi:10.1179/147683010X12611460763526

Onyper, S. V., Carr, T. L., Farrar, J. S., & Floyd, B. R. (2011). Cognitive advantages of chewing gum. Now you see them, now you don’t. Appetite, 57(2), 321-328. doi:10.1016/j.appet.2011.05.313

Moss, M. WORTH A MINT. (2008). American Herb Association Quarterly Newsletter, 23(2), 12.

Johnston, C. c., Tyler, C., Stansberry, S. A., Moreno, J. P., & Foreyt, J. P. (2012). Brief report: Gum chewing affects standardized math scores in adolescents. Journal Of Adolescence, 35(2), 455-459. doi:10.1016/j.adolescence.2011.04.003

Hirano, Y., Obata, T., Takahashi, H., Tachibana, A., Kuroiwa, D., Takahashi, T., & … Onozuka, M. (2013). Effects of chewing on cognitive processing speed. Brain And Cognition, 81(3), 376-381. doi:10.1016/j.bandc.2012.12.002

Allen, K., Norman, R., & Katz, R. (2008). The effect of chewing gum on learning as measured by test performance. Nutrition Bulletin, 33(2), 102-107.