Drunk, but not blind: the effects of alcohol intoxication on change blindness.

Conscious Cogn

Department of Psychology, University of Illinois at Chicago, 1007 W. Harrison St. (M/C 285), Chicago, IL 60607, USA.

Published: March 2013

AI Article Synopsis

  • Alcohol consumption at moderate levels (BAC between .071 and .082) was found to negatively impact complex working memory tasks, showing reduced performance among intoxicated participants.
  • In contrast, intoxication led to improved performance on a change blindness task, suggesting that alcohol may enhance certain types of passive processing.
  • Overall, the study indicates that while intoxication impairs attentional control, it can also shift cognitive processing in ways that benefit performance in some scenarios.

Article Abstract

Alcohol use has long been assumed to alter cognition via attentional processes. To better understand the cognitive consequences of intoxication, the present study tested the effects of moderate intoxication (average BAC between .071 and .082) on attentional processing using complex working memory capacity (WMC) span tasks and a change blindness task. Intoxicated and sober participants were matched on baseline WMC performance, and intoxication significantly decreased performance on the complex span tasks. Surprisingly, intoxication improved performance on the change blindness task. The results are interpreted as evidence that intoxication decreases attentional control, causing either a shift towards more passive processing and/or a more diffuse attentional state. This may result in decreased performance on tasks where attentional control or focus are required, but may actually facilitate performance in some contexts.

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Source
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.concog.2013.01.001DOI Listing

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