Effects of Alcohol on Psycho-Technical Tests and Social Communication in a Festive Situation: A Chronopsychological Approach

The aim of this study was to determine the effect of consuming alcoholic vs. nonalcoholic beverages on performance of psycho-technical tasks (attentional and general nonverbal intelligence tasks) and social behavior at different times of day. Both alcoholic and nonalcoholic consumption took place in...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Chronobiology international 2004-01, Vol.21 (4-5), p.721-738
Main Authors: Clarisse, René, Testu, François, Reinberg, Alain
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Alcohol
Alcohol Drinking - psychology
Attention - drug effects
Attention - physiology
Attentional tasks-Mental tasks
Chronopsychology
Circadian Rhythm - physiology
Communication
Diurnal fluctuations in performance
Ethanol - pharmacology
Female
Festive situation
Humans
Intelligence Tests
Male
Psychomotor Performance - drug effects
Psychomotor Performance - physiology
Social Behavior
Social communication
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Summary:The aim of this study was to determine the effect of consuming alcoholic vs. nonalcoholic beverages on performance of psycho-technical tasks (attentional and general nonverbal intelligence tasks) and social behavior at different times of day. Both alcoholic and nonalcoholic consumption took place in a largely festive situation. The experiment was conducted on 184 degree-level and postgraduate students (94 female and 90 male) divided into eight independent groups for study at different times: 8:00 to 11:00, 11:00 to 14:00, 14:00 to 17:00, 17:00 to 20:00 h. The main result obtained, by analysis of variance (ANOVA), showed that time of day had no effect on the performance of psycho-technical tasks nor on social communication, except for the retest situation in the attentional task. Alcohol (equal to ˜0.5 g L of blood) facilitated communication, but basically it had no effect on any of the psycho-technical performance tests. For the latter, an interaction was observed between when the test was done and type of beverage consumed. Alcohol appears to alter the expected change in performance in the retest situation. The results suggest that the body's sensitivity to a measured quantity of alcohol differs according to the cognitive processes involved.
ISSN:0742-0528
1525-6073
DOI:10.1081/CBI-200026461