Influences of Alcohol, Interpersonal Feedback, and Drinking Experience upon Performance and Judgment

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Abstract
The study examined influences of alcohol, social feedback, and drinking experience upon performance, performance awareness, and awareness of intoxication. 24 subjects were selected on the basis of drinking experience. All subjects consumed either a placebo or an alcoholic beverage, i.e., target blood-alcohol concentration of .05% or .10%, prior to each of three experimental sessions. Within groups, subjects were paired and completed a series of cognitive and psychomotor tasks. During each session subjects evaluated both their own and their partner's performance and degree of intoxication. A series of correlations between performance or measures of blood-alcohol concentration and judgments determined relative awareness. Alcohol significantly impaired performance, with inexperienced drinkers being significantly more impaired than experienced drinkers. All groups over-estimated their blood-alcohol concentration, but inexperienced drinkers evaluated themselves as highly intoxicated. Subjects generally under-estimated alcohol impairment and correlations showed awareness decreased as blood-alcohol concentration increased. The implications of the research to drinking/driving problems were discussed.