One of the interesting aspects of drinking alcohol is its effects on attention and consciousness. One study examined this relationship in a reading task (Sayette et al., 2009). This article will briefly review the methods and results of that study.
Methods
The participants in this study consisted of 50 healthy men who were at least occasional drinkers but who did not meet the DSM-IV criteria for alcohol abuse or dependence. These participants were randomly assigned into the alcohol group or the placebo group. Participants in the alcohol group drank alcohol at the beginning of the procedure, while participants in the place group drank “flattened tonic water” out of a glass that had been smeared with vodka (previous studies have indicated that this is a convincing placebo for alcohol).
The procedure was as follows:
- Upon arrival, the height, weight, BAC, and subjective intoxication (SIS) of each participant were measured.
- Each participant drank the same amount of either alcohol or placebo, depending on the group they were in.
- Around 39 minutes after they began drinking, BAC and SAS were recorded again.
- The participants engaged in a group task in order to allow BAC levels to continue rising.
- The “zoning-out task” was completed:
- Participants read a description of zoning out.
- Participants read up to 34 pages of War and Peace in a 30-minute period.
- They were instructed to press a button whenever they caught themselves zoning out.
- They were also given prompts every two to four minutes asking if they had zoned out.
- When participants reported that they had zoned out, they answered questions about what they had zoned about, etc.
- At the end of the 30-minute period, or once they had finished the 34 pages, participants answered up to 10 true/false questions about the reading they had done.
- Finally, BAC was measured once again.
Results
The following results were obtained:
- Immediately before the zoning-out task, participants had a mean BAC of 0.067%.
- Participants in the two groups did not differ significantly in either the amount of time spent reading or in reading comprehension.
- Participants in the alcohol group were significantly more likely to be caught zoning out by the automatic prompts.
- However, participants in the alcohol group did not seem to be aware of the fact that they were zoning out more than participants in the placebo group.
Together, the results suggest that alcohol led to more “mind-wandering” during the task, but that the participants in the alcohol group were not necessarily aware of this.
Wrapping up
Ultimately, the results of this study show that drinking a minor amount of alcohol (that is, not enough to reach a BAC above the legal limit for driving) causes participants to frequently zone out while completing a reading task. Notably, the participants in the alcohol group were not fully aware of how often they were zoning out. While the results of this study may seem obvious, it is important to run experiments to confirm things that are believed to be common knowledge.
References
Sayette, M.A., Reichle, E.D., Schooler, J.W. (2009). Lost in the Sauce: The Effects of Alcohol on Mind Wandering. Psychological Science, 20(6), 747-752. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-9280.2009.02351.x.
