Keywords
Problematic caffeine use; Expectancies; Caffeine use groups; Expectancy activation; Caffeine effects; Multidimensional scaling
Abstract
Caffeine is the most consumed and widely used psychoactive substance in the world. Whether someone uses caffeine or not, expectations about use can be influential to some degree. Expectancies exist everywhere and are extremely influential in all aspects of life. Regarding drug use, expectancies can affect behavior, outcomes, and one’s experience with the drug. Caffeine is no exception, caffeine expectancies have been seen to play a role in several actions such as the development, maintenance, and reinforcement of caffeine use. This study examined latent use profiles of caffeine and relationships between the profiles and the activation of caffeine expectancies. Multidimensional scaling was used to plot the activation of caffeine expectancies based on latent profiles. College students (n = 1,032) reported on caffeine use and caffeine use expectancies. Latent profile analysis identified 5 use classes: Light/none-users (n = 620, LCMP = 98%), Developing Problem Use (n = 141, LCMP = 93%), Problem Minimizing (n = 64, LCMP = 96%), Late Problem Use (n = 154, LCMP = 100%), and Caffeine dependence (n = 53, LCMP = 100%). We then used Multidimensional scaling (INDSCAL) to create a hypothetical memory network of caffeine expectancies and to plot likely activation pathways of expectancies based on the latent use profile using PREFMAP. The results indicated that activation of expectancies moved away from the stimulation/sedation axis and toward the emotional valence axis indicating a shift from stimulating effects to emotion-regulation effects. These may have important implications for prevention programs targeting various levels of caffeine use.
Thesis Completion Year
2025
Thesis Completion Semester
Spring
Thesis Chair
Dvorak, Robert D.
College
College of Sciences
Department
Psychology
Thesis Discipline
Psychology
Language
English
Access Status
Open Access
Length of Campus Access
None
Campus Location
Orlando (Main) Campus
STARS Citation
Forsyth, Catherine S., "Organization and Activation of Caffeine Expectancies" (2025). Honors Undergraduate Theses. 298.
https://stars.library.ucf.edu/hut2024/298
Included in
Chemicals and Drugs Commons, Health Psychology Commons, Psychological Phenomena and Processes Commons, Substance Abuse and Addiction Commons
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