During my public speaking and communications class at SUNY Broome, I discovered I have a natural talent for public speaking. I have great confidence in myself when speaking to large groups. I even participated in the speech competition for Broome’s TOAST MASTER’S club. This is the slideshow from the speech that earned me first place; the second slide is the video of the actual speech.

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.

 

Lauren Jensen

Madame Bovary

LIT 290

10/12/18

     Gustave Flaubert’s Madame Bovary criticizes the French provincial bourgeois society in many ways, though not in the ways the French courtrooms were accusing him of. The story’s first appearance in the Paris Revue was in parts, throughout a series of issues. The magazine was a place for writers to have a safe zone to express their works of literary art without political critique. However, Flaubert’s work brought complaints of slander toward the French government, claiming it to be immoral and disgraceful because women like that could never exist in France; they had more class than that.

     The prosecution claimed the book was immoral for more reasons than not. From the way it portrayed French women to be scandalous and devious and manipulative, to the vulgar language and innuendos. It slandered the church and government. How dare anyone have their own opinion on religion and politics, but more importantly, how dare that opinion differ from that of those who are calling the shots. The adultery was supposedly the worst part of the book. People wanted pieces removed from the book, especially the scene in the back of the cab, when Leon and Emma are very clearly having sexual relations.

French law says that a person is guilty until proven innocent, so Flaubert’s lawyer Antoine Senard had to say anything he needed to say to win the case. The defense said the book was moral because it teaches women that adultery has consequences. Sinning, lying, cheating, sneaking around has disgusting, deathly consequences. Senard stated that Flaubert wrote the book to deter women from doing such appalling things. He claimed Flaubert’s purpose was for women to think ‘I’m not going to be like Emma; I don’t want to end up like her’. Senard also pointed out that Flaubert was a respectable, upper class citizen, and the son of a famous doctor. Since they were trying to convince white men of high social status and good standing, this was a great point to make, since they were the only people who had any real say.

     The defense won the trial, and that brings the book full circle. Senard said what people wanted to hear, because he knew that winners are the people who work the system. Homais knows this in the book, too. He stays on everyone’s good side so that people don’t find out he is actually a fraud and liar, and in the end even receives the highest civilian form of French recognition. The prosecution, Pinard, said “art without rules is not art. It is like a woman who discards all clothing,” which is shameful and disgraceful. But Flaubert’s art is really meant to show the honest to God French government, stripped down, not hidden or covered up.

     The book was said to be an insult to the honor and virtue of the French government, especially its women. But if the French people were so good and moral, they wouldn’t have even read the novel. The hypocrisy of the trial is the best part of it all. Infidelity occurs- in real life and in books, and everyone takes part in it. Whether they are the ones having the affair, or the ones talking about it, or the ones turning their cheek and pretending not to notice: everyone is involved.

Meanwhile, Flaubert didn’t care what people thought of his work. He knew that the people who found it immoral were afraid of it; afraid to admit the brutal honesty that his words depicted. It didn’t matter whether the book is moral or not, it mattered that he may be allowed to write it, and that anyone may be allowed to read it, regardless of what others may think of it. This brought the abolition of freedom of the press, and Flaubert said that censorship was “treason against the soul.” He didn’t make a point to say whether what Emma does in immoral or moral. That wasn’t the point of his art. The point of his art was to tell the facts of what was happening in their society, around Emma, which should have been the real events being questioned about morality. The events in Flaubert’s booked only mirrored real life events, in a smaller way. Redolphe seducing Emma, just like the French Government was, at the time, seducing its people. The government was telling the people what they wanted to hear. Emma being so willing to give away her virtue to Rodolphe is just like the old lady who won the lottery at the street fair. She won, but immediately is ready to give her money to her master.

But morality cannot possibly determine the quality of a book, or any piece of art, for that matter. One cannot simply say someone’s feelings and thoughts and emotions are immoral. Those things are valid, no matter the circumstance. The stories people tell through their art are theirs to tell, and no one else’s. As a matter of fact, I think the more uncomfortable art makes you, the more it pulls you from your comfort zone to a place you’ve never ventured before, the better the art is.

‘I am not a teacher, but an awakener.’ –Robert Frost

I want to teach because I want to light fires of passion in my pupils. I want the children I teach to find their purpose; to find the things that strike joy in their hearts.