Topic > Alcohol and Placebos: The Role of Expectations and Social Influence

Alcohol placebos can influence people's social behaviors, but they cannot account for non-social behaviors. During this experiment, subjects are tested through the misconception that they are drinking alcohol, when in reality it is simply tonic water. Assefi and Garry analyze the effect of alcohol placebos on social and non-social encounters. Speilman discusses the misinformation effect created by Loftus. This effect explains how, after exposure to incorrect information, a person can misremember the original event. Speilman delves into the fact of interference, where the information stored in our memory becomes almost hidden. A key term for one type of this is retroactive interface, where newly acquired information preempts old information. This corresponds to studying based on influences, or interference, which can affect the ability to remember the original information. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Giving subjects placebo alcohol, informing them that it is called "vodka-tonic" or "tonic water", can make the topic more interesting naive to misleading information and eyewitness memory, which is persuaded by factors social and non-social. One hundred and forty-eight undergraduate students participated. Data was retained from only 117 out of 148 subjects. To study the effects of alcohol placebos on social and non-social encounters, subjects were assessed through Balanced Placebo Design. Through this procedure, subjects are told that they are consuming alcoholic beverages or that they are drinking soft drinks. What they are told is true or false. This procedure allows for the separation of the physiological and psychological effects of alcohol. During this experiment, subjects were subjected to various tests, testing their memory while being told whether they were drinking alcohol or not. After numerous tests, the subjects were asked to rate their confidence in the correct answer choices using a scale of 1 to 5. The results of this experiment showed that the small suggestion of alcohol consumption had made the subjects more prone to suggestions misleading post-event. . Subjects taking said alcohol were significantly more confident in their answer choices than tonic water. The pattern of results goes along with the concept that alcohol placebos do not affect memory per se, however, it did affect the subject's likelihood of giving in to alcohol. suggestions presented by the person conducting the experiment. Conclusion The results of this experiment may relate to daily life due to alcohol consumption and social behaviors. Many times when a person drinks, they do so in a social way with friends, family, and more. This offers the opportunity to deal with situations and decisions that can easily be traced back to the fact of intoxication. While it is not a placebo, it mimics a person's decision-making ability while under the influence. Drinking and driving is a widespread problem and is heavily caused by poor decision making while under the influence. The most important finding of this experiment was the idea that alcohol consumption can influence the subject's likelihood of giving in to suggestions provided by the experiment's instructor. in mind: this is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay Allowing subjects to rate their confidence that each answer was correct is a good way to observe how those who received the.