scholarly journals Public house patrons' engagement in hypothetical sexual assault: a test of Alcohol Myopia Theory in a field setting

2011 ◽  
Vol 37 (6) ◽  
pp. 547-558 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heather D. Flowe ◽  
Jade Stewart ◽  
Emma R. Sleath ◽  
Francesca T. Palmer
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Assault ◽  
Alcohol Myopia ◽  
Public House ◽  
Alcohol Myopia Theory ◽  
Field Setting

scholarly journals Alcohol myopia and the distracting effects of hair in face recognition

2019 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
pp. 237-244
Author(s):  
Alistair J Harvey ◽  
Danny A Tomlinson
Keyword(s):  
Facial Recognition ◽  
Recognition Task ◽  
Cognitive Resources ◽  
Exterior Region ◽  
Eyewitness Accuracy ◽  
Alcohol Myopia ◽  
Unfamiliar Face ◽  
Alcohol Myopia Theory ◽  
Full Face ◽  
Unfamiliar Faces

Background: According to alcohol myopia theory, alcohol reduces cognitive resources and restricts the drinker’s attention to only the more prominent aspects of a visual scene. As human hairstyles are often salient and serve as important facial recognition cues, we consider whether alcohol restricts attention to this region of faces upon initial viewing. Aims: Participants with higher breath alcohol concentrations just prior to encoding a series of unfamiliar faces were expected to be poorer than more sober counterparts at recognising the internal but not external features of those faces at test. Methods: Drinkers in a nearby bar ( n=76) were breathalysed and then shown a sequence of 21 full face photos. After a filled five-minute retention interval they completed a facial recognition task requiring them to identify the full, internal or external region of each of these among a sequence of 21 previously unseen (part or whole) faces. Results: As predicted, higher breath concentrations were associated with poorer discrimination of internal but not external face regions. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that alcohol restricts unfamiliar face encoding by narrowing the scope of attention to the exterior region of unfamiliar faces. This has important implications for drunk eyewitness accuracy, though further investigation is needed to see if the effect is mediated by gender, hair length and face feature distinctiveness.

Intoxicated Witnesses: Testing the Validity of the Alcohol Myopia Theory

2016 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 270-281 ◽  
Author(s):  
Deborah Crossland ◽  
Wendy Kneller ◽  
Rachel Wilcock
Keyword(s):  
Alcohol Myopia ◽  
Alcohol Myopia Theory

scholarly journals Testing Alcohol Myopia Theory: Examining the Effects of Alcohol Intoxication on Simultaneous Central and Peripheral Attention

Perception ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 46 (1) ◽  
pp. 90-99 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah J. Bayless ◽  
Alistair J. Harvey
Keyword(s):  
Alcohol Intoxication ◽  
Alcohol Treatment ◽  
Attentional Focus ◽  
Task Type ◽  
Identification Accuracy ◽  
Peripheral Stimulus ◽  
Counting Task ◽  
Alcohol Myopia ◽  
Alcohol Impairment ◽  
Alcohol Myopia Theory

The effect of alcohol intoxication on central and peripheral attention was examined as a test of Alcohol Myopia Theory (AMT). Previous research has supported AMT in the context of visual attention, but few studies have examined the effects of alcohol intoxication on central and peripheral attention. The study followed a 2 (alcohol treatment) × 2 (array size) × 2 (task type) mixed design. Forty-one participants (placebo or intoxicated) viewed an array of four or six colored circles, while simultaneously counting the flashes of a centrally presented fixation cross. Participants were instructed to prioritize flash counting accuracy. The subsequently presented colored probe matched the cued peripheral stimulus on 50% of trials. Flash counting and probe identification accuracy were recorded. There was a significant main effect of alcohol treatment on accuracy scores, as well as an alcohol treatment by task type interaction. Accuracy scores for the central flash counting task did not differ between treatment groups, but scores for peripheral probe identification were lower in the alcohol group. As predicted by AMT, alcohol impairment was greater for peripheral probe detection than for the central and prioritized flash counting task. The findings support the notion that alcohol intoxication narrows attentional focus to the central aspects of a task.

scholarly journals Alcohol, emotion and attention: revisiting the Alcohol Myopia Theory

2011 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 403-410 ◽  
Author(s):  
Izabela Mocaiber ◽  
Isabel Antunes David ◽  
Letícia de Oliveira ◽  
Mirtes Garcia Pereira ◽  
Eliane Volchan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Alcohol Myopia ◽  
Alcohol Myopia Theory
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