Psychology Alludes to Why We Like Coffee

There are a numbers of vital questions every person has to ask while on the path to enlightenment. There’s the typical “why should I do with my life” that can be addressed with a trip to Thailand or Europe and a hot summer fling, and then there are the atypical questions that will unravel your brain one cell at a time. You know, questions like “what if we’re all living in a simulation?” or “why do I have to breathe so often?” But the biggest question—the one that may shake you to your very core— involves everyone’s favorite morning drink: coffee.

Manoug Somakian, a professor of psychology at Webster University in Bangkok, blames it on monkey-see, monkey-do human habit.

“Goodness, there are SO many examples of people liking things that initially taste terrible, like tobacco, beer, hot peppers, and tea,” says Manoug. “All that matters at first is that we see others enjoying it. Humans, similar to all primates, benefit by mimicking the behaviors of others.”

While Manoug suggests that we’re all just kind of “going with it” there’s more of a science to it than we think.

“It starts out as societal pressure and then we enjoy the smell of the ground powder, the ritual of its preparation, and the time taken to sit down and enjoy the coffee either alone or with others. Ultimately, our brain responds with a nice release of dopamine.”