gotta love that placebo effect
Jan. 4th, 2003 12:48 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
novapsycheEven 'Vodka-Free' Vodka and Tonics Impair Memory
People who think they are drinking alcohol perform worse on memory tests than others, even when their drink is nothing more than tonic water, new research shows.
In memory tests involving eyewitness accounts, people who believed they were drinking a vodka and tonic were more swayed by misleading information presented after the event than those who were told their drinks were vodka-free.
Supposed alcohol drinkers also tended to report feeling more confident about the accuracy of their responses than did those who knew they were downing tonic water alone, report Drs. Seema L. Assefi and Maryanne Garry of Victoria University of Wellington in New Zealand.
"Together, these results lead us to conclude that the suggestion one has consumed alcohol can affect not only memory for an event, but also confidence about how accurate that memory is," they add.
[...]During the experiment, 148 undergraduate students all drank tonic water, and half were told the drinks contained vodka. The students drank while they watched a short film, then saw a slide sequence showing a man shoplifting at a bookstore. After the show, participants read a 500-word story that contained some misleading information about some of the objects in the slide show, such as incorrectly describing their color.
The authors then quizzed the students about details regarding the objects that appeared in the original slide show.
This aspect of memory contains a social component, the authors argue, because previous research has suggested that social influences can affect how a person responds to misleading information. The status of the figure who presents the misleading information, as well as his or her appearance, all appear to influence how people respond to it, they note.
Indeed, in the current study, people who believed they were drinking alcohol were more strongly influenced by the misleading information presented after the slide show, and also reported feeling more confident about their memories than did people who knew their tonic was vodka-free.
However, the students who believed their drinks were spiked answered questions about objects not discussed during the misleading story just as well as those who knew what they were drinking--suggesting alcohol does not impact the so-called "nonsocial" aspect of memory.
People who think they are drinking alcohol perform worse on memory tests than others, even when their drink is nothing more than tonic water, new research shows.
In memory tests involving eyewitness accounts, people who believed they were drinking a vodka and tonic were more swayed by misleading information presented after the event than those who were told their drinks were vodka-free.
Supposed alcohol drinkers also tended to report feeling more confident about the accuracy of their responses than did those who knew they were downing tonic water alone, report Drs. Seema L. Assefi and Maryanne Garry of Victoria University of Wellington in New Zealand.
"Together, these results lead us to conclude that the suggestion one has consumed alcohol can affect not only memory for an event, but also confidence about how accurate that memory is," they add.
[...]During the experiment, 148 undergraduate students all drank tonic water, and half were told the drinks contained vodka. The students drank while they watched a short film, then saw a slide sequence showing a man shoplifting at a bookstore. After the show, participants read a 500-word story that contained some misleading information about some of the objects in the slide show, such as incorrectly describing their color.
The authors then quizzed the students about details regarding the objects that appeared in the original slide show.
This aspect of memory contains a social component, the authors argue, because previous research has suggested that social influences can affect how a person responds to misleading information. The status of the figure who presents the misleading information, as well as his or her appearance, all appear to influence how people respond to it, they note.
Indeed, in the current study, people who believed they were drinking alcohol were more strongly influenced by the misleading information presented after the slide show, and also reported feeling more confident about their memories than did people who knew their tonic was vodka-free.
However, the students who believed their drinks were spiked answered questions about objects not discussed during the misleading story just as well as those who knew what they were drinking--suggesting alcohol does not impact the so-called "nonsocial" aspect of memory.