Posner's (1978) experiment was used to examine the effects on alertness. The experiment, in which the interval between a warning signal and a letter pair was varied and used to examine the effects of alertness, was replicated. Two such experiments were conducted. The first experiment consisted of a control and experimental group. The experimental group consumed kava at a dosage of 30mg in 250 mls of water prior to the experimental task. The results showed a successful replication of Posner's alertness experiment, however, no effect due to kava was found. Experiment 2 was identical except that the dosage was tripled and added to 500 mls of water. Again the Posner experiment was replicated but no effects due to kava were found. It was concluded that the rate of preparatory adjustment does not effect the accrual of information to long-term memory as Posner (1978) suggested. Concerning kava, it was concluded that at the dosages employed, kava had no effect, and recommendations for further experimentation are made.