Learning in Young Alcoholics

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
A group of young male alcoholics with a mean age of 26.7 years performed less well than matched controls on a test of complex maze learning. The relatively short period of time during which these alcoholics had been drinking to excess (M = 5.7 years) suggests that acquired deficits may appear earlier in the drinking history of many alcoholics that has been previously assumed. Data from the maze was analyzed by modelling each individuals'' cumulative error scores with a two-parameter hyperbolic function. The model provided an excellent fit to individual data and group differences were observed in both parameters of the model. It is concluded that curve fitting provides an efficient method for represening individual performance on a multitrial learning task.

This publication has 33 references indexed in Scilit: