Effects of Alcohol on Risk-Seeking Behavior: A Group-Level Analysis.

Although much drinking occurs in social settings, there has been little testing of alcohol in groups. The authors examined the effects of alcohol on performance on a group decision-making task. Fifty-four unacquainted male social drinkers were randomly assigned to 3-person groups that consumed either alcohol (0.82 g/kg) or a placebo. After drinking, participants decided whether to complete a 30-min questionnaire battery or toss a coin and, pending the outcome of that toss, complete either no questionnaires or a 60-min battery. Alcohol groups were significantly more likely than placebo groups to choose the coin toss. Results highlight the potent effects of alcohol on group decision making and suggest that application of social psychological theory and methods to the study of alcohol is warranted. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Expertise in Group Problem Solving: Recognition, Social Combination, and Performance.

This laboratory study assessed how recognition of expertise affects group decision making and performance. Three-person groups and independent individuals solved 4 intellective problem-solving tasks in 3 experimental conditions: 4 individual tasks, 1 individual task followed by 2 group tasks followed by 1 individual task, or 1 individual task followed by 2 group tasks (with intragroup rankings) followed by 1 individual task. Findings indicate that (a) both groups with ranking information and groups without are fairly well calibrated with respect to expertise, (b) group decisions were best approximated by "expert-weighted" decision schemes in which the highest performing member of the group has twice the influence of other group members, and (c) groups performed at the level of the best of an equivalent number of individuals. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Prior exposure to alcohol and the stress-response-dampening effect.

This study investigated the effect of receiving prior exposure to alcohol and the laboratory environment on the stress-reducing effects of alcohol. Sixteen heavy drinkers were matched on a measure of risk for alcoholism and assigned to 1 of 2 groups. During Days 1 and 2, the alcohol group drank alcohol (0.5 g/kg) and the placebo group drank a placebo in a distinct laboratory environment while measures of heart rate were obtained. During Day 3, both groups received a placebo in an effort to discern whether the groups differed in their response to alcohol cues. During Day 4, both groups received alcohol followed by a stressful task. The groups differed in neither their response to alcohol cues nor their initial response to alcohol. However, the alcohol group did demonstrate a reduced heart rate response during the stress phase. These results suggest that the stress-reducing effects of alcohol may reflect the influence of experiential as well as pharmacological factors related to alcohol consumption. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of authoritarianism on vigilance performance.

An experiment was performed on the effects of authoritarian monitoring conditions upon vigilance performance. Two groups of 20 Ss each were employed. One group worked at a light monitoring task for a period of 135 min. without rest and alone. The second group worked at the same task for the same amount of time but was observed by either a commissioned or noncommissioned officer according to a random visiting schedule. Signal rate was 12 signals per hr. The results indicated a highly significant facilitation of detection performance resulting from observation by the officers. It was suggested that these conditions represent an extreme point along a dimension of perceived threat to the monitor. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Parental alcoholism and the effects of alcohol on mediated semantic priming.

In this study, researchers tested the effects of a moderate dose of alcohol on the spread of activation of associated information in memory using a mediated semantic priming task in which target words are preceded by primes that are either unrelated or indirectly related to the target. Male and female participants with or without a parental history (PH+ and PH-, respectively) of alcoholism were administered the priming task after consuming alcohol or a placebo beverage. Among PH- individuals, alcohol constrained the spread of activation of associated information, as manifested by a reduced priming effect. In contrast, alcohol enhanced priming effects among PH+ participants, though this latter effect appears to be due to a particularly slow response among these individuals to unprimed words. Results are discussed with regard to theories of alcohol's effects on cognitive processes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

An alcohol model of impaired inhibitory control and its treatment in humans.

This study developed a model of impaired inhibitory control in humans to test the efficacy of treatments for this deficit. Male social drinkers (N?=?35) practiced a "go–stop" task that measured response inhibition. They then were assigned to 1 of 5 groups (n?=?7) that performed the task under a different treatment. The model of impaired inhibitory control was provided by administering 0.62 g/kg alcohol to 1 group (A), whose response inhibition was compared with a placebo group (P). The other 3 groups received 0.62 g/kg alcohol plus a treatment designed to ameliorate alcohol impairment of inhibitory control: behavioral reinforcement (B), or 4.4 mg/kg caffeine (C), or a combination of both (B?+?C). Alcohol impaired inhibitory control, and all 3 treatments (B, C, and B?+?C) counteracted the impairment. The findings indicate that alcohol impairment of response inhibition may provide a useful human model to test conditions that may ameliorate or exacerbate deficits in behavioral control induced by drugs or other factors. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The effects of "unwanted" signals and d-amphetamine sulfate on observer responses.

The effects of unwanted signals and d-amphetamine sulfate on observer responses (OR) in a 2-hour vigilance task were studied. Scope observation was contingent on a lever press (OR). 8 different schedule of frequency and regularity of unwanted conditions were used involving 8 independent groups of 4 Ss each. The effects of oral ingestion of placebo and drug were also tested. Increasing the frequency and irregulants of unwanted signals without drugs markedly increased frequency and rate of OR. This effect was enhanced under placebo and drug. Variance due to individual differences lessened as reinforcement from unwanted signals and drugs increased. Hypotheses based on activation theory emphasizing arousal aspects of vigilance behavior were verified. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of alcohol on person perception: A social cognitive neuroscience approach.

The acute effects of alcohol on cognitive processing of expectancy violations were investigated using event-related brain potentials and a cued recall task to index attentional and working memory processes associated with inconsistency resolution. As predicted, expectancy-violating behaviors elicited larger late positive potentials (LPP) and were recalled better than expectancy-consistent behaviors. These effects were moderated by alcohol and the valence of initial expectancies. For placebo group participants, positive targets performing negative behaviors elicited the largest LPP responses and were recalled best. For those in the alcohol groups, negative targets behaving positively elicited the largest LPP and recall responses. These findings suggest that alcohol does not globally impair working memory processes in person perception but instead changes the nature of valenced information processing. Findings are discussed in the context of alcohol's effects on working memory processes, reward sensitivity, and the prefrontal cortical structures thought to mediate them. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Conformity to groups as a function of group success.

"Three person groups were given different degrees of success and failure in a collaborative group task. Following this, individuals twice judged the number of flickers of a light, receiving a purported average judgment prior to the second estimate." Persons in groups given all successes showed significantly more movement of the second judgment in the direction of the purported group average than did members of all failure groups or persons having no group experience. Persons in groups having partial success were intermediate. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Working memory is more sensitive than declarative memory to the acute effects of corticosteroids: A dose–response study in humans.

The effects of various doses (40 μg/kg/hr, 300 μg/kg/hr, 600 μg/kg/hr or placebo) of hydrocortisone on tasks assessing working and declarative memory function were measured in 4 groups of 10 young men. During the infusion, participants were given an item-recognition working memory task, a paired-associate declarative memory task, and a continuous performance task used to control possible concomitant effects of corticosteroids on vigilance. The results revealed significant acute effects of the highest dose of hydrocortisone on working memory function, without any significant effect on declarative memory function or arousal–vigilance performance. These results suggest that working memory is more sensitive than declarative memory to the acute elevations of corticosteroids, which could explain the detrimental effects of corticosteroids on acquisition and consolidation of information, as reported in the literature. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Positive Reactions to Working in Groups in a Study of Group and Individual Goal Decision Making.

The authors explored group members' positive reactions to working in groups that performed a card-sorting task for which they set goals. They also tested predictions regarding observed differences between the goal decisions of groups and individuals for their own and others' performance. Consistent with predictions, group members had more goal commitment, more positive attitudes toward goal attainment, and greater satisfaction with their performance than individuals. Moreover, groups chose goals that were less difficult than the goals of individuals both for their own and for others' performance. The ways in which group decision processes and other factors may account for differences in group and individual goal decisions are considered. In addition, the social-emotional and task-related benefits members perceive of working in their groups are discussed. (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)     

Memorizing by individuals and groups: A test of the pooling-of-ability model.

"Sixty-five Ss were given eight nonsense words to learn. Forty-two of the Ss learned the task in groups of three, and the remaining 23 learned the task as individuals… . The data indicate that a concept of group facilitation need not be introduced to explain the groups' performance." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Correction to Harrison et al. (2007).

Reports an error in "Driver training conditions affect sensitivity to the impairing effects of alcohol on a simulated driving test to the impairing effects of alcohol on a simulated driving test" by Emily L. R. Harrison, Cecile A. Marczinski and Mark T. Fillmore (Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology, 2007[Dec], Vol 15[6], 588-598). The correct title of the article should read "Driver training conditions affect sensitivity to the impairing effects of alcohol on a simulated driving test". (The following abstract of the original article appeared in record 2007-18976-010.) Research shows that prior behavioral training in a challenging environment reduces alcohol-induced impairment on simple psychomotor tasks. However, no studies have examined if this relationship generalizes to driving performance. The present study examined simulated driving performance and tested the hypothesis that a challenging training history would protect against the impairing effects of alcohol on driving performance. The challenging training history involved driving in a visually-impoverished environment. Thirty adults were randomly assigned to one of three groups. Two groups were tested under alcohol (0.65 g/kg) after prior experience performing the task under either a visually-impoverished environment or a normal visual environment. The remaining group served as a control and was trained and tested under the visually-impoverished condition environment. Results showed that individuals trained in the impoverished environment displayed sober levels of performance when their performance was subsequently tested under alcohol. By contrast, volunteers trained in a normal environment showed impairment under alcohol. The findings suggest that differences in driving training history can affect a driver's sensitivity to the impairing effects of alcohol. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Some effects of varying combinations of group members on group performance measures and leadership behaviors.

This experiment tests whether individuals contribute differently to the group product depending on the other individuals with whom they are assembled. "This assembly effect on the group end-product is clearly distinguished from the contribution attributable to each individual of the group, considered separately." By using the Ball-and-Spiral Apparatus as a group task, this assembly effect was found significant, for the two experimental measures used, at the .05 and .08 levels. These results are discussed in terms of their implications for future research on assembly effects. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Pride in group performance and group-task motivation.

This experiment tested the propositions that pride in one's group results from the members' perceptions of effective task performance of the group as a whole and is directly associated with high motivation toward the assigned task of the group. 25 3-man groups assigned to work on a simulated Air Defense task were distributed among 5 experimental conditions. The measure of task motivation was the amount of task-oriented discussion during a "break" period. "Evidence is cited supporting the hypothesis that the high group-task motivation results from a perception of interdependence among the group members with respect to the attainment of reward." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Driver training conditions affect sensitivity to the impairing effects of alcohol on a simulated driving test to the impairing effects of alcohol on a simulated driving test.

[Correction Notice: An erratum for this article was reported in Vol 16(2) of Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology (see record 2008-03846-009). The correct title of the article should read "Driver training conditions affect sensitivity to the impairing effects of alcohol on a simulated driving test".] Research shows that prior behavioral training in a challenging environment reduces alcohol-induced impairment on simple psychomotor tasks. However, no studies have examined if this relationship generalizes to driving performance. The present study examined simulated driving performance and tested the hypothesis that a challenging training history would protect against the impairing effects of alcohol on driving performance. The challenging training history involved driving in a visually-impoverished environment. Thirty adults were randomly assigned to one of three groups. Two groups were tested under alcohol (0.65 g/kg) after prior experience performing the task under either a visually-impoverished environment or a normal visual environment. The remaining group served as a control and was trained and tested under the visually-impoverished condition environment. Results showed that individuals trained in the impoverished environment displayed sober levels of performance when their performance was subsequently tested under alcohol. By contrast, volunteers trained in a normal environment showed impairment under alcohol. The findings suggest that differences in driving training history can affect a driver's sensitivity to the impairing effects of alcohol. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Simulated driving performance of adults with ADHD: Comparisons with alcohol intoxication.

Previous research has demonstrated that adults with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are more likely to experience driving-related problems, which suggests that they may exhibit poorer driving performance. However, direct experimental evidence of this hypothesis is limited. The current study involved 2 experiments that evaluated driving performance in adults with ADHD in terms of the types of driving decrements typically associated with alcohol intoxication. Experiment 1 compared the simulated driving performance of 15 adults with ADHD to 23 adult control participants, who performed the task both while sober and intoxicated. Results showed that sober adults with ADHD exhibited decrements in driving performance compared to sober controls, and that the profile of impairment for the sober ADHD group did in fact resemble that of intoxicated drivers at the blood alcohol concentration level for legally impaired driving in the United States. Driving impairment of the intoxicated individuals was characterized by greater deviation of lane position, faster and more abrupt steering maneuvers, and increased speed variability. Experiment 2 was a dose-challenge study in which 8 adults with ADHD and 8 controls performed the driving simulation task under 3 doses of alcohol: 0.65g/kg, 0.45g/kg, and 0.0g/kg (placebo). Results showed that driving performance in both groups was impaired in response to alcohol, and that individuals with ADHD exhibited generally poorer driving performance than did controls across all dose conditions. Together the findings provide compelling evidence to suggest that the cognitive and behavioral deficits associated with ADHD might impair driving performance in such a manner as to resemble that of an alcohol intoxicated driver. Moreover, alcohol might impair the performance of drivers with ADHD in an additive fashion that could considerably compromise their driving skill even at blood alcohol concentrations below the legal limit. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Alcohol, Intentional Control, and Inappropriate Behavior: Regulation by Caffeine or an Incentive.

This study shows that reduced intentional control under alcohol can be counteracted by caffeine or an environmental incentive. Four groups of social drinkers (n = 11) received 1 of the following: 0.62 g/kg alcohol (A), alcohol with 4.4 mg/kg caffeine (AC), alcohol with a rewarding monetary incentive (AR), or a placebo (P). They then performed a word stem completion task that provided separate measures of the influence of controlled and automatic processes governing responses. Controlled processes were depressed in Group A compared with Group P, whereas Groups AR and AC did not differ from Group P. Most inappropriate responses were displayed under alcohol alone, fewer with caffeine, and least with incentive. No treatment significantly affected automatic processes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Social Identity, Group Processes, and Performance in Synchronous Computer-Mediated Communication.

This study examined group processes in a synchronous context and their effects on performance, assuming that these processes would be strongly dependent on the salience of social identity. It was predicted that the mere categorization of students into an online group and comparison with other groups, 2 basic conditions related to social identity, would enhance group identification, interaction patterns, and group performance in a relatively complex academic task. As predicted, the categorization manipulation enhanced group identification and increased task- and morale-building communication. It was not related to performance. These findings invite a more thorough examination of the impact of social identity on the building of a sense of online community at the early stage of a learning process. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)