Psychomotor performance under alcohol and under caffeine: Expectancy and pharmacological effects.

Tested the hypothesis that Ss' expectancies about drug effects on psychomotor performance would predict their responses to drug and placebo. 40 male undergraduates were assigned to 1 of 5 treatments: alcohol (0.56 g/kg), placebo alcohol, caffeine (2.93 mg/kg), placebo caffeine, or no treatment. Groups received preliminary training on a pursuit rotor task before rating the effect that caffeine or alcohol was expected to have on their performance. Ss' performance was measured under the treatments and showed impairment under alcohol and improvement under caffeine. However, regardless of whether they received a drug or placebo, those who expected the most impairment performed the most poorly. Results indicate the importance of expectancies in understanding individual differences in response to drugs and placebos. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Dose effects of triazolam and alcohol on cognitive performance in healthy volunteers.

Benzodiazepines and alcohol are widely used psychoactive substances that have performance-impairing effects. Research suggests that the impairment profiles for benzodiazepines and alcohol differ, although few cognitive psychopharmacological studies have directly compared these drugs. This double-blind, double-dummy, placebo-controlled, repeated measures study directly compared the acute dose effects of triazolam (0.125, 0.25 mg/70 kg) and alcohol (0.40, 0.80 g/kg) in 20 social drinkers. At doses that produced comparable psychomotor impairment, triazolam was more likely to impair several objective measures of cognitive performance (e.g., episodic memory, divided attention) and to slow performance across several measures. However, only alcohol impaired accuracy on the digit symbol substitution and semantic memory tasks. In addition to objective measures, both drugs impaired awareness of performance impairments (i.e., metacognition) such that participants overestimated impairment, and the magnitude of this effect was generally larger for alcohol. Only triazolam impaired other measures of metacognition (e.g., error detection on a choice reaction time task). Future research might examine the clinical implications of the performance impairments reported here given the widespread use of benzodiazepines and alcohol. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Expectancy theory and alcohol: The situational insensitivity hypothesis.

Examines the role of alcohol-related expectancies as predictors of adult and adolescent problem drinking and offers a hypothesis as to why expectancy factors lacking in situational specificity predict problem drinking so successfully. It is argued that problem drinkers rely excessively on alcohol to obtain reinforcers, failing to employ different behaviors as a function of different stimulus contexts. Problem drinkers are seen as showing situational insensitivity in this overreliance. Thus, the situation-general nature of the expectancy factors may account for their success in predicting the situation-general behavior of problem drinking. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The biphasic effects of alcohol on human physical aggression.

The authors assessed the biphasic effects of alcohol on human physical aggression. Sixty male social drinkers were assigned to 1 of 4 groups: alcohol ascending limb (AAL), alcohol descending limb (ADL), or 1 of 2 sober control groups. Aggression was assessed in the AAL and ADL groups at respective ascending or descending blood alcohol concentrations (BAC) of 0.08%. Each participant in the control groups was respectively yoked with a participant in either the AAL or the ADL group to control for the longer period of time needed to reach a BAC of 0.08% on the descending limb compared with the ascending limb (i.e., passage of time effect). The authors measured aggression using a modified version of the Taylor aggression paradigm (S. Taylor, 1967), in which electric shocks are received from and administered to a fictitious opponent during a competitive task. The AAL group was more aggressive than the ADL group. There were no differences between the ADL group and the control groups, which suggests that alcohol does not appear to increase aggression on the descending limb. The control groups did not differ in aggression, thus ruling out a passage of time effect. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Personal self-disclosure: Expectancy and situational effects.

96 male undergraduates, selected from a pool of 169 because of their high or low scores on the Jourard Self-Disclosure Questionnaire (JSDQ), were randomly assigned to 1 of 2 conditions of specific expectancy, in which they were told that they would find it either easy or difficult to self-disclose to a stranger interviewer, and 1 of 3 conditions of interviewers' behavior (personal, impersonal, or no disclosure). The JSDQ, scored for anticipated self-disclosure but not for recalled self-disclosure, predicted observed performance. The specific expectancy manipulation and the intimacy level of topics also had significant effects on self-disclosure. A 3-way interaction between generalized and specific expectancy and topic intimacy was also found. (28 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Therapeutic effects of complex motor training on motor performance deficits induced by neonatal binge-like alcohol exposure in rats . I. Behavioral results

We imaged the horizontal semicircular canal (HSCC) crista and cupula of toadfish, Opsanus tau, by using a) confocal light microscopy of isolated vital HSCC; b) serial sections of fixed, trichrome-stained HSCC; and c) scanning electron microscopy of fixed HSCCs. HSCC were dissections which included an ampulla and an attached canal tube (long and slender canal portion), and, in some cases, a small portion of the utricular wall. Cupulae were seen as multipartite mucus connective tissue shells rising from the crista and extending toward the ampullary roof. They were composed of several refractile bands traversing the cupulae perpendicular to longitudinal fibers extending from the cupular base to its apex. Alcian green-stained cupulae showed an asymmetric alcianphilic, dark, X-shaped structure, indicating that the pillar is rich in mucin and carbohydrate, an interpretation supported by images of trichrome-stained sections. The cupular antrum is devoid of prominent refractile fibers. No tubes or channels were observed in the cupula or antrum of vital preparations. Cupular shell fibers cover the surface of the crista, are roughly parallel, and are associated with a translucent material having a refractive index greater than the surrounding endolymph. Stereocilia were thin, 100-microm-long structures, with little longitudinal curvature, which end with no end bulb. No strands extend from stereocilia to the roof or other portions of the cupular antrum. Gross movements of stereocilia were not seen in mechanically quiescent preparations. Within the cupular antrum, stereocilia were parallel to connective tissue fibers, all embedded in an isotropic gel. This fiber-reinforced gel and cupular matrix are sensitive to N-acetlyneuraminidase and beta-N-acetyl glucosaminidase, and minimally sensitive to beta-N-acetyl hexosaminidase. Connective tissue fibers may serve to stiffen the gel, whose matrix would restrict lateral motion of embedded fibers and stereocilia thereby providing mechanical support for stereocilia.     

The effects of individual cognitive ability and idea stimulation on idea-generation performance.

A computer-based group idea-generation simulator was used to measure the performance of individuals with high and low cognitive ability who received high- or low-quality stimulation; high- and low-quality stimulation was operationalized by presenting controlled idea submissions from simulated group members throughout the idea-generation session. Cognitive ability and stimuli quality interacted such that the high cognitive ability/high-quality stimuli treatment achieved the highest performance. The results suggest that the performance of individuals with high cognitive ability can be enhanced when given high-quality stimuli or be inhibited when exposed to low-quality stimuli. The performance of individuals with low cognitive ability, in contrast, is consistently meager regardless of stimuli quality. The findings suggest that group composition cannot only significantly influence the overall ideational performance of a group, but also that of individual group members. The implications of these findings for future research, as well as the implications for the design of group idea-generation procedures, are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The effects of learning goal difficulty level and cognitive ability on performance.

The relationship between the difficulty level of a learning goal and a person's (N = 146) performance on a task that required the acquisition of knowledge to perform effectively was examined. Multiple hierarchical regression analysis revealed that the higher the learning goal, the higher the person's performance. Cognitive ability and goal commitment also positively affected performance. The results showed that the person's cognitive ability moderated the learning goal-performance relationship. Contrary to previous research findings on performance goals for tasks that are straightforward for people, the performance of individuals lower in cognitive ability was more positively affected by the setting of a difficult learning goal than was the case for people higher in cognitive ability. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The influence of alcohol on the persistent effects on human performance of the hypnotics Mandrax and Nitrazepam

Psychotropic drugs are prescribed to modify human behavior but they have persistent central sedative activity which may become a troublesome side-effect. Alcohol is known to interact with psychotropes, often to potentiate their central effects. We have previously shown that residues of some hypnotic drugs persist in the body for up to a week after a single therapeutic dose and have demonstrated that alcohol decreases the elimination rate of methaqualone even when taken 2 or 3 days after the drug. We have therefore looked at the influence of alcohol on the residual effects of Mandrax and nitrazepam on three measurements of human performance. The study was a double-blind, 3-way, cross-over study in which the following treatments were used: drug + alcohol, drug + alcohol placebo, and drug placebo + alcohol. In each case the alcohol or alcohol placebo was given 1, 2, and 3 days after the drug or placebo. The subject's kinetic visual acuity was measured 40 minutes after the alcohol had been taken. This was followed by a Stroop test. Changes in mental state and arousal were measured by an 18-item visual analogue scale. An interaction between alcohol and Mandrax was apparent in the results obtained from the Stroop and visual analogue scale on the third day. However, no interaction with nitrazepam could be clearly demonstrated by any of the tests on any occasion. The application of these results to the "real life" situation is discussed.     

Deleterious effects of alcohol intoxication: Diminished cognitive control and its behavioral consequences.

The authors tested the hypothesis that impaired behavioral performance during intoxication results partly from alcohol's deleterious effects on cognitive control. The impact of alcohol on perseverative behavior was examined with an n-back working memory task that included manipulations of task complexity and prepotency of inclinations to respond or withhold responding. Thirty-two social drinkers (16 men) participated in either an alcohol (.075g/100ml) or a no-alcohol condition. Alcohol increased perseveration of prepotent, task-inappropriate response patterns only under cognitively demanding (heavy memory load) conditions. This effect was evident for both commission errors (response persistence despite contingencies altered to require restraint) and omission errors (failure to respond when contingencies were revised to encourage action). Findings suggested that alcohol-induced perseveration arises from impairments in cognitive control. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Provocation, acute alcohol intoxication, cognitive performance, and aggression.

This study investigated the relationships between provocation, acute alcohol intoxication, impaired frontal-lobe function, and aggressive behavior. The authors ranked 114 men according to their performance on two neuropsychological tests associated with frontal-lobe function. Forty-eight men (24 with scores in the upper and 24 with scores in the lower performance quartiles) participated in the full study. Half completed an aggression task while intoxicated, the remainder while sober. Aggression was defined as shock intensity delivered to a sham opponent. Shock intensity significantly increased as a main effect of provocation, alcohol intoxication, and lower cognitive performance. Furthermore, provocation interacted significantly with test performance such that individuals in the lower cognitive performance quartile responded to increased provocation with heightened aggression. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Expectancy theory predictions of academic effort and performance.

Used expectancy theory models to predict the academic effort and performance of 60 male undergraduates. Rating scales completed by Ss support the theory that effort is related to the degree to which the behavior (or job) is seen as leading to various outcomes weighted (multiplicatively) by the evaluation of these outcomes. The predictability of effort increased when extensions of the effort model were included by adding others' expectations and perceived influence. Ss' self-reports of effort and GPA and college entrance exam records were used to test the job performance model, which suggests that effort and ability combine to predict performance. Neither the additive nor the multiplicative models found support in this setting. The extensions and modifications of the theory are discussed in detail. (17 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Groupdrink: The effects of alcohol on intergroup competitiveness.

Alcohol is often consumed in group settings. The present article examines the effect of alcohol on intergroup competitiveness through the use of a prisoner's dilemma game. One hundred fifty-eight college students participated in the study, either individually or as a member of a 4-person experimental single-sex group. Participants consumed either alcohol (1.13 g ethanol/kg body weight) or a placebo. Results show no effect of alcohol on cooperative choice within individuals. However, groups were significantly less cooperative after consuming alcohol than they were after consuming a placebo. In addition, after consuming alcohol, groups were less cooperative than were individuals. Results are discussed in terms of the way alcohol may affect focus of attention on group-level cues. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Nicotine and smoking: A review of effects on human performance.

Examined the effects of nicotine administration and cigarette smoking on human performance to clarify the role of such effects in controlling smoking. The results of 101 studies (129 experiments) published in scientific journals from 1970 to 1993 were reviewed. In nonabstinent smokers and nonsmokers, nicotine enhanced finger tapping and motor responses in tests of attention; cognitive functioning was not reliably enhanced. It is unlikely that these limited performance-enhancing effects of nicotine play an important role in the initiation of cigarette smoking. In contrast, data from abstinent smokers support the conclusion that nicotine deprivation functions to maintain smoking in nicotine-dependent persons, in part, because nicotine can reverse withdrawal-induced deficits in several areas of performance. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Noise effects on human performance: A meta-analytic synthesis.

Noise is a pervasive and influential source of stress. Whether through the acute effects of impulse noise or the chronic influence of prolonged exposure, the challenge of noise confronts many who must accomplish vital performance duties in its presence. Although noise has diffuse effects, which are shared in common with many other chronic forms of stress, it also exerts its own specific influences on various forms of cognitive and motor response. We present a quantitative evaluation of these influences so that their harmful effects can be mitigated, their beneficial effects exploited, and any residual effects incorporated and synthesized into selection, training, and design strategies to facilitate human performance capacities. Predictions of single and joint moderator effects were made on the basis of major theories of noise and performance, specifically those explanations based on arousal, masking, or cognitive-resource mechanisms. These predictions were tested through moderator analyses of effects as a function of task type, performance measure, noise type and schedule, and the intensity and duration of exposure. Observed outcome effects (797 effect sizes derived from 242 studies) varied as a function of each of these moderators. Collective findings identified continuous versus intermittent noise, noise type, and type of task as the major distinguishing characteristics that moderated response. Mixed evidence was obtained for the traditional arousal and masking explanations for noise effects. The overall pattern of findings was most consistent with the maximal adaptability theory, a mental-resource-based explanation of stress and performance variation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

The accelerate study: The longitudinal effect of speed of processing training on cognitive performance of older adults.

Objective: Examine the short-term and long-term impact of speed of processing training on cognitive performance in older adults. Study Design: Randomly assigned, 2-group experimental design with assessment periods at baseline, immediately after training, and at 2 subsequent annual points. Setting: Laboratory. Participants: Older adults (N=159) with speed of processing impairments. Interventions: Speed of processing training group or a social contact Internet control group. Participants in both groups received approximately ten 1-hr training sessions. Main Outcome Measures: Cognitive measures. Results: Speed of processing training resulted in improved performance on two measures of information processing (Useful Field of View and the Starry Night tests). Conclusions: Speed of processing training produced significant processing speed improvement that was robust over a 2-year period. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Decision-making effects on compensation surveys: Implications for market wages.

Compensation specialists made 2 survey-sample decisions in a simulated wage survey. Policy-capturing analyses indicate that most specialists relied extensively on 2 of the available cues and consistently applied that policy across judgments. They were not able to accurately estimate their own decision-making policies, as demonstrated by the fact that rationally generated assessments of cue importance were significantly different from their actual policies. Finally, meta-analyses demonstrate that the variation in policies across decision makers could not be attributed to statistical artifacts or any moderators (e.g., salary-survey experience or industry) associated with the demographic data. Thus, different compensation specialists are likely to select a different sample of employers even for the same wage survey. Implications for the relevance of market wages obtained from surveys are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Expectancy challenge and drinking reduction: Process and structure in the alcohol expectancy network.

Expectancies' mediational (control) role in alcohol consumption has been supported by both correlational and experimental evidence (J. Darkes & M. S. Goldman, 1993; M. S. Goldman, P. E. Greenbaum, & J. Darkes, 1997; L. Roehrich & M. S. Goldman, 1995). This study assigned participants (n?=?54) to 1 of 2 expectancy challenges targeting the expectancy dimensions of either arousal or sociability identified by B. C. Rather and M. S. Goldman (1994), or to a no-treatment control, to examine the relationship of the structure and process of change in alcohol expectancies. Both challenges resulted in reduced consumption and expectancies immediately posttreatment and 6 weeks later after a short "booster" session. These results may reflect the lack of "discrete" expectancy structure and provide further support for the exploration of these methods as a possible prevention strategy. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Residual effects of cigarette smoking on cognitive performance in normal aging.

The present study examined the residual effects of smoking status on cognitive function in 76 nondemented older adults. Current smokers, ex-smokers, and nonsmokers who were screened for health and intellectual impairments were adminstered a battery of standardized neuropsychological tests to measure problem solving, psychomotor speed, memory, attention span, perception, and language production. Performance decrements were found for smokers on measures of psychomotor speed. No between-group differences were noted on any of the nonspeeded tests. There were no differences between nonsmokers and ex-smokers on any measures. The results suggest that the residual effects of current cigarette smoking negatively influence speeded cognitive capabilities in older adults. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Reciprocal effects of hormonal fluctuations on human motor and perceptual-spatial skills.

Normal adult women showed systematic performance fluctuations across the menstrual cycle on several motor and perceptual tests that typically yield sex differences in performance. The midluteal phase, characterized by high levels of estradiol and progesterone, was associated with improved performance on tests of speeded motor coordination and impaired performance on a perceptual-spatial test, relative to performance during menses. Variations in gonadal steroid levels may contribute substantially to the sex differences reported in human cognitive and motor skills. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)