Influence of flavored jelly beverage consumption on emotions during video game performance: An electroencephalographic study

Yasuyoshi Kinta; Naoki Iemoto; Nobuaki Takahashi

doi:10.59400/apr4169

Influence of flavored jelly beverage consumption on emotions during video game performance: An electroencephalographic study

Yasuyoshi Kinta
Research Institute, Morinaga & Co. Ltd., Yokohama, Kanagawa 230-8504, Japan
Naoki Iemoto
Research Institute, Morinaga & Co. Ltd., Yokohama, Kanagawa 230-8504, Japan
Nobuaki Takahashi
Research Institute, Morinaga & Co. Ltd., Yokohama, Kanagawa 230-8504, Japan

Article ID: 4169

Keywords: choking under pressure, electroencephalography, emotional state estimation, emotional arousal, jelly beverages

Abstract

The relationship between food consumption and emotional sensitivity has attracted considerable attention recently. This study aimed to examine the impact of routine consumption of a flavored jelly beverage on performance in a video game task. We included 19 healthy Japanese male participants aged 20–44 years. Using normalized γ-wave power values and an emotional state estimation model based on electroencephalography, we found that the routine consumption of flavored jelly beverages increased γ-wave power, which may be related to arousal. During the pre-performance quiet period, the winning group exhibited a lower positive probability in the emotional state model than the losing group, suggesting that reduced positive emotional states may enhance performance. Similarly, the routine group demonstrated a low positive probability, which aligns with the emotional state of the winners. After the task, the winning group exhibited decreased γ-wave power, which may reflect reduced arousal and a calmer emotional state. Our findings suggest that optimal performance is associated with a low positive probability, which may be linked to arousal-related emotional states. Routine consumption of a flavored jelly beverage may induce this low positive probability. Thus, this study established a correlation between flavored jelly beverage intake and emotional sensitivity, which could contribute to the development of foods that are not only enjoyable and healthy but also enhance overall well-being, including mental health.

Published

2026-04-29

How to Cite

Kinta, Y., Iemoto, N., & Takahashi, N. (2026). Influence of flavored jelly beverage consumption on emotions during video game performance: An electroencephalographic study. Applied Psychology Research, 5(1). https://doi.org/10.59400/apr4169

Download Citation

Issue

Vol. 5 No. 1 (2026)

Section

Article

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

References

[1]Araki, T., Yoshimoto, S., Uemura, T., et al. (2022). Skin-like transparent sensor sheet for remote healthcare using electroencephalography and photoplethysmography. Advanced Materials Technologies, 7(11), 2200362. https://doi.org/10.1002/admt.202200362

[2]Baumeister, R. F. (1984). Choking under pressure: Self-consciousness and paradoxical effects of incentives on skillful performance. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 46(3), 610–620. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.46.3.610

[3]Birrer, D., & Morgan, G. (2010). Psychological skills training as a way to enhance an athlete’s performance in high-intensity sports. Scandinavian Journal of Medicine and Science in Sports, 20(S2), 78–87. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1600-0838.2010.01188.x

[4]Cotterill, S. (2010). Pre-performance routines in sport: Current understanding and future directions. International Review of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 3(2), 132–153. https://doi.org/10.1080/1750984X.2010.488269

[5]Cowen, A. S., & Keltner, D. (2017). Self-report captures 27 distinct categories of emotion bridged by continuous gradients. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 114(38), E7900–E7909. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1702247114

[6]Fitzgibbon, S. P., Pope, K. J., Mackenzie, L., et al. (2004). Cognitive tasks augment gamma EEG power. Clinical Neurophysiology, 115(8), 1802–1809. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clinph.2004.03.009

[7]Fukuma, R., Yanagisawa, T., Nishimoto, S., et al. (2022). Voluntary control of semantic neural representations by imagery with conflicting visual stimulation. Communications Biology, 5(1), 214. https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-022-03137-x

[8]Gardner, F., & Moore, Z. (2006). Clinical Sport Psychology. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics Publishers.

[9]Gröpel, P., & Mesagno, C. (2019). Choking interventions in sports: A systematic review. International Review of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 12(1), 176–201. https://doi.org/10.1080/1750984X.2017.1408134

[10]Gu, W., Li, J., Peng, J., et al. (2025). DAVG-ViT: A domain-adaptive Vision Transformer with GA-BiLSTM for EEG emotion recognition. Computer Methods in Biomechanics and Biomedical Engineering. https://doi.org/10.1080/10255842.2025.2605574

[11]Hanin, Y. L. (editor). (2000). Emotions in Sport. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics Publishers.

[12]Hanton, S., Wadey, R., & Connaughton, D. (2005). Debilitative interpretations of competitive anxiety: A qualitative examination of elite performers. European Journal of Sport Science, 5(3), 123–136. https://doi.org/10.1080/17461390500238499

[13]Hardy, L., & Parfitt, G. (1991). A catastrophe model of anxiety and performance. British Journal of Psychology, 82(2), 163–178. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.2044-8295.1991.tb02391.x

[14]Hardy, L., Jones, G., & Gould, D. (1996). Understanding Psychological Preparation for Sport: Theory and Practice of Elite Performers. Chichester: John Wiley & Sons.

[15]Hawkes, M. E. (2021). Experiences of developing pre-performance routines with recreational pianists. Psychology of Music, 49(6), 1721–1736. https://doi.org/10.1177/0305735620972788

[16]Hiraishi, H. (2017). Qualitative analysis of concentration level in throwing using simple brain-wave sensor. International Journal of Cognitive Informatics and Natural Intelligence, 11(3), 17–30. https://doi.org/10.4018/IJCINI.2017070102

[17]Horikawa, T., Cowen, A. S., Keltner, D., et al. (2020). The neural representation of visually evoked emotion is high-dimensional, categorical, and distributed across transmodal brain regions. iScience, 23(5), 101060. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2020.101060

[18]Islam, M. K., Rastegarnia, A., & Yang, Z. (2016). A wavelet-based artifact reduction from scalp EEG for epileptic seizure detection. IEEE Journal of Biomedical and Health Informatics, 20(5), 1321–1332. https://doi.org/10.1109/JBHI.2015.2457093

[19]Jones, G. (1995). More than just a game: Research developments and issues in competitive anxiety in sport. British Journal of Psychology, 86(4), 449–478. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.2044-8295.1995.tb02565.x

[20]Kinta, Y., Iemoto, N., Ishiguro, S., et al. (2024). Evaluation of psychological measurements during consumption of flavored jelly beverages. International Journal of Affective Engineering, 23(1), 63–73. https://doi.org/10.5057/ijae.IJAE-D-23-00014

[21]Kinta, Y., Iemoto, N., & Takahashi, N. (2025a). Evaluation of physiological and psychological measurement by consumption of multi-elements frozen dessert. Journal of Sensory Studies, 40(6), e70087. https://doi.org/10.1111/joss.70087

[22]Kinta, Y., Iemoto, N., Ishiguro, S., et al. (2025b). Evaluation of physiological measurements during consumption of flavored jelly beverages. Advanced Biomedical Engineering, 14, 205–218. https://doi.org/10.14326/abe.14.205

[23]Kuppens, P., Tuerlinckx, F., Russell, J. A., et al. (2013). The relation between valence and arousal in subjective experience. Psychological Bulletin, 139(4), 917–940. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0030811

[24]Leary, M. R., & Kowalski, R. M. (1997). Social Anxiety. New York, NY: Guilford Press.

[25]Lewis, B. P., & Linder, D. E. (1997). Thinking about choking? Attentional processes and paradoxical performance. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 23(9), 937–944. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167297239003

[26]Lonsdale, C., & Tam, J. T. M. (2008). On the temporal and behavioural consistency of pre-performance routines: An intra-individual analysis of elite basketball players’ free throw shooting accuracy. Journal of Sports Sciences, 26(3), 259–266. https://doi.org/10.1080/02640410701473962

[27]Matsui, E., Oiwa, K., & Nozawa, A. (2024). A model for predicting the physiological and psychological state of eating based on sensory evaluation. International Journal of Affective Engineering, 23(1), 19–26. https://doi.org/10.5057/ijae.IJAE-D-23-00005

[28]Orbach, I., & Blumenstein, B. (2022). Preparatory routines for emotional regulation in performance enhancement. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, 948512. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.948512

[29]Page, S. J., Sime, W., & Nordell, K. (1999). The effects of imagery on female college swimmers’ perceptions of anxiety. Sport Psychologist, 13(4), 458–469. https://doi.org/10.1123/tsp.13.4.458

[30]Pop-Jordanova, N. (2011). Brain rate as an indicator of the level of consciousness. In: Cvetkovic, D., Cosic, I. (editors). States of Consciousness. Berlin/Heidelberg: Springer. pp. 187–201. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-18047-7_8

[31]Rupprecht, A. G. O., Tran, U. S., & Gröpel, P. (2024). The effectiveness of pre-performance routines in sports: A meta-analysis. International Review of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 17(1), 39–64. https://doi.org/10.1080/1750984X.2021.1944271

[32]Sarason, I. G., & Sarason, B. R. (1990). Test anxiety. In: Leitenberg, H. (editor). Handbook of Social and Evaluation Anxiety. Boston, MA: Springer. pp. 475–495. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-2504-6_16

[33]Schütte, S., & Marco-Almagro, L. (2022). Linking the Kansei food model to the general affective engineering model: An Application on Chocolate Toffee Fillings. International Journal of Affective Engineering, 21(3), 219–227. https://doi.org/10.5057/ijae.IJAE-D-21-00024

[34]Seiler, R. (1992). Performance enhancement—A psychological approach. Sports Science Review, 1(2), 29–45.

[35]Steptoe, A., & Fidler, H. (1987). Stage fright in orchestral musicians: A study of cognitive and behavioural strategies in performance anxiety. British Journal of Psychology, 78(2), 241–249. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.2044-8295.1987.tb02243.x

[36]Thomas, O., Hanton, S., & Maynard, I. (2007). Anxiety responses and psychological skill use during the time leading up to competition: Theory to practice I. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 19(4), 379–397. https://doi.org/10.1080/10413200701599132

[37]Tief, V. J., & Gröpel, P. (2021). Pre-performance routines for music students: An experimental pilot study. Psychology of Music, 49(5), 1261–1272. https://doi.org/10.1177/0305735620953621

Editor-in-Chief

Prof. Giuseppe Lanza

Oasi Research Institute-IRCCS, Italy

eISSN

3029-276X

Publication Frequency

Semi-annual

Indexing

Polish Scientific Bibliography

About the Publisher

Academic Publishing insists on taking academic exchange and publication as the main line, carrying out comprehensive management based on science and technology, and fully exploring excellent international publishing resources. Within 5 years, it will form a strategic framework and scale with science (S), technology (T), medicine (M), education (E), and humanities and arts (H) as the main publishing fields. Academic Publishing is headquartered in Singapore and based in Malaysia, with the United States and China providing the main scientific and academic resources. At the same time, it has established long-term good cooperative relations with other publishing companies, scientific research communities, and academic organizations in more than a dozen countries and regions. Academic Publishing uses English and Chinese as its main publishing languages, mainly publishing books, journals, and conference papers in print and online. The vast majority of publications follow the international open access policy, providing stable and long-term quality and professional publications. With the joint efforts of the expert team and our professional editorial team, our publications will gradually be indexed by international databases in stages to provide convenient and professional retrieval for various scholars. At the same time, manuscripts we accept will be subject to the peer review principle, and cutting-edge and innovative research articles will be preferentially accepted for peer reference and discussion. All kinds of our publications are welcome for peer to contribute, access, and download.

more

Volume Arrangement

2026

2025

2024

2023

2022

Featured Articles

A comprehensive review (1963–2024) of environmental psychology: Trends, themes, and future directions

Multidisciplinary environmental psychology studies the dynamic link between humans and their natural and manmade settings. This thorough study synthesises 443 works from 1963 to 2024 on topics such as physical surroundings’ effects on behaviour, environmental stressors, pro-environmental behaviour, and applying psychological theories to environmental interactions. This literature is synthesised to identify patterns, themes, and future directions. Growing environmental concerns and the need for sustainable development have changed the profession. Green areas have been demonstrated to boost mental health and reduce stress. Nature helps mental exhaustion recuperation. Hospitals and workplaces’ design and structure affect health and productivity. Walkable, green urban development improves citizens’ well-being and promotes sustainable living. Environmental stresses including noise, pollution, and overpopulation harm mental and physical health. Children exposed to noise pollution are more likely to develop cardiovascular illness and cognitive deficits. Anxiety and despair caused by climate change are also becoming more apparent. Pro-environmental behaviour is emphasised, with notions like planned behaviour and community-based social marketing working. Behaviour interventions using social norms and feedback have decreased energy and waste. Personal values-driven intrinsic motivation promotes long-term behavioural change better than extrinsic incentive. Environmental psychology uses surveys, experiments, and mixed-methods research. Virtual and augmented reality provide for environmental simulations and psychological studies. Good health and well-being, excellent education, sustainable cities, responsible consumerism, climate action, and living on land are among the field’s major contributions to the UNSDGs. Environmental psychology will help establish sustainable and healthy settings that correspond with the UNSDGs as environmental issues grow.

The impact of the menstrual cycle on emotions and behavior—A review of current research

The menstrual cycle has attracted the interest of many researchers for many years. It is analyzed from many angles, including its impact on mental health. Hormonal changes over the course of the cycle have a very strong impact on the emotions, needs, or pain experienced. Estrogen, secreted shortly before ovulation, influences increased confidence and feelings of attractiveness, which can lead to new relationships. In contrast, progesterone, secreted during the luteal phase, promotes the strengthening of stable relationships, and a large proportion of women may experience premenstrual syndrome (PMS) during this time. This publication discusses studies from recent years that have assessed the variability of women’s needs and emerging symptoms during different phases of the cycle. It also summarizes any strategies and practical tips needed to work with women considering their cyclical variability.

Testing social impact and self-attention predictions with live audiences and co-actors

This experiment examined the influences of number of co-actors and audience size on manual dexterity task performance and subjective reactions such as perceived effort and arousal. Predictions derived from social impact theory and the self-attention perspective’s other-total ratio indicated that both number of co-actors and audience size should influence responses. Undergraduate students (N = 128) responded as 1, 2, 4, or 8 group members who were observed in counterbalanced fashion by 1, 2, 4, or 8 audience members for four performance trials. The predictions of increased task performance with larger audience sizes and decreased performance as number of co-actors increased were not supported. Participants’ rated arousal was somewhat consistent with the predictions from the self-attention perspective and social impact theory. Self-reported effort was consistent with the predicted patterns, but not always significantly so. The influence of number of others is moderated by the objective-subjective nature of responses of real co-actors performing in front of live audiences.

Manifesting the academic psychological contract

The level of research undertaken on the academic psychological contract, and its influence on academics’ behaviour is limited. This paper seeks to consider the academic psychological contract, by reviewing its manifestation within the role and the influence on their undertaking of the role. Particularly important is academics’ interpretation of the role and what they consider important. Within this, the paper considers in-role and extra-role activities and what may be the grey areas in which time is spent. The research adopts the combined usage of phenomenology with interpretivist processes to investigate the insights of eighteen academics at nine UK University Business Schools. Semi-structured interviews were used to collect data to consider the constructs’ manifestation. Key aspects of behaviour were identified as discretionary effort autonomy and managerialism, with links to academic citizenship.