REACTION TIME AS A FUNCTION OF ALCOHOL AND SELECTIVE ATTENTION

This experiment tested the hypothesis that alcohol intoxication will lead to a focusing of attention on only the most salient feature of the external situation. The 30 subjects were assigned to either an alcohol, a placebo, or a control group. The alcohol dose was 0.8 ml of pure alcohol/kg body weight. In a choice reaction time test, one signal light was made salient by marking it. It was expected according to the hypothesis that only the alcohol group would have shorter RTs for the marked compared to the unmarked lights. Results were quite the opposite. Only the control group had shorter RTs for the marked lights. This unexpected result was discussed in relation to attention theories explaining increases in aggression under alcohol intoxication.

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  P.O. Box 37
  Corte Madera, CA  United States  94925
• Authors:
  • Gustafson, R
• Publication Date: 1987

Media Info

• Pagination: p. 515-522
• Serial:
  • Journal of Social Behavior and Personality
  • Volume: 2
  • Issue Number: 4
  • Publisher: Select Press
  • ISSN: 0886-1641

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Alcoholic beverages; Drivers; Drunk drivers; Drunk driving; Impaired drivers; Intoxication; Reaction time; Traffic safety; Traffic signals
• Uncontrolled Terms: Driver reaction
• Old TRIS Terms: Driver impairment
• Subject Areas: Highways; Safety and Human Factors; I83: Accidents and the Human Factor;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00489482
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Nov 30 1989 12:00AM