Subjective Ratings
Since a main interest was in examining the effects of the
energy drink doses on each of the subjective ratings (stimulation,
sedation, mental fatigue), we created difference
scores for each rating that controlled for the participants’
baseline state (e.g., subtracting the stimulation rating postdrink
from the baseline stimulation rating). Results of a
one-way ANOVA for change scores in stimulation ratings
revealed a significant effect of group, F(4, 75) 3.22, mean
standard error (MSE) 174.01, p .02. Post hoc tests
revealed that stimulation change scores were significantly
higher in the 1.8 ml/kg energy drink condition compared to
the no-drink condition ( p .01), and significantly higher in
the 1.8 ml/kg and 5.4 ml/kg energy drink conditions compared
to placebo, ps .02. Figure 1 illustrates how the 1.8