Study: Chewing gum can contribute to better test scores
December 4, 2007 by Katerina Placek
Filed under News
Chewing gum offers improved memory and concentration which may improve students’ test-taking abilities, according to an informal study conducted by a Cornell University marketing professor.
“I chew gum almost all the time,” Temple University freshman biology major Rebekah Barnes said. “If it can help me during finals, I’ll definitely be chewing it then too.”
Edward McLaughlin, the Robert G. Tobin professor of marketing and director of the Food Industry Management Program at Cornell, recently decided to test the effects of chewing gum on test performance.
In the study, Wrigley’s 5 gum was selectively distributed among the class on an exam day. After the exam, an informal, nonscientific survey showed that students who chewed gum during the exam received higher test scores than those who did not.
“The results, though from an informal study, showed that chewing gum may increase focus for students during exams,” a Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company representative said.
Gum experts at Wrigley suggest chewing gum while studying and during test-taking to maximize the benefits.
The Cornell University study, though informal, has a factual basis. Five years ago, a study conducted at the University of Northumbria in the United Kingdom set out to prove that chewing gum sharpens mental performance. The 75 participants in the study, all healthy adults ages 24 to 26, performed a series of cognitive tasks to examine the effects of chewing gum on aspects of attention – short-term memory, and long-term memory.
Results showed a significantly improved memory and concentration in the gum chewing participants. This research provided the first evidence that chewing gum can improve the brain’s retrieval of information in both long-term and short-term memory.
The mechanisms underlying the memory enhancement associated with chewing gum remain unknown. As freshman biology major Agin Thomas states, “I’ve always chewed gum especially before exams. I don’t know why but it helps me to concentrate.”
Some speculate this small phenomenon is due to the fact that mastication improves cerebral blood flow, specifically to regions understood to influence features of memory performance. Furthermore, chewing promotes the release of insulin into the bloodstream which could also affect memory functioning.
For students stressed with upcoming finals, chewing gum may offer a form of relief.
Katerina Placek can be reached at katerina.placek@temple.edu.
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what is goin on
hey
My sister is a teacher and says this works. Bridget
I just heard something on the news about a special gum designed for test takers. It has Ginkgo biloba in it too! It is called Think Gum, I really want to try it but I don’t know where I can buy it.
i like mastication
YEAH MASTICATION
i put gum up people’s butt’s!
i heard that chewing sugarfree gum like 5 gum it makes you like 10% smarter
Aspartam is in it, you evil,evil professor
ooga ooga ooga!
hahahaaa!!
I think schools should let gum in schools because we like it and it is helthy for our minds. DUH!!!!!!
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i like gum and it taste soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo good i think it works
Well this seems to be some of the proof i needed for debating in English class
I don’t know how well it works or if it even does. Based on an informal study? What does that even mean?
Anyway, my son is in the 2nd grade, and he just did his testing today. He came home and told me that they passed out gum in class to chew while taking tests. He said they told him it made his brain work better.
gum is good let us chew it in school
gum is good chew chew chew
It would seem as though alot of the posters do not chew gum!
olny the smurfs know where your berries went?…………………
This really works. My school is writing a petition for this. How many people should we get to sign for this? only a couple teachers agreed.