Effects of Alcohol on Some Psychological Processes. A Critical Review With Special Reference to Automobile Driving Skill

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Abstract
A review of the psychological literature since 1940 suggests that little progress has been made in developing a knowledge of how and in what way alcohol affects behavior. It appears that a reformulation of the concepts that guide thinking about the action of alcohol in all areas is needed. The minimum condition for conceptual advancement is an open mind, guarded against a set to obtain evidence for time-honored hypotheses. Except in a few areas little creative effort appears to have been spent in research on the effect of alcohol on human behavior. Experiments in reaction time, motor skills, sensory phenomenon, positional nystagmus and intellectual functions are examined. Intra subject varibility in response to alcohol and methodological issues in alcohol research are discussed. Alcohol impairs automobile driving performance at low blood alcohol levels, according to every report. The major problem that occurs in tests of driving skill is one of validity. Neither the test course studies, which use actual cars, nor the driving simulators are known to be valid representations of actual driving on the road. A primary reason for this is the lack of a description and definition of real driving, and possible motivational changes that occur in subjects in driving experiments.