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Lost in the sauce: the effects of alcohol on mind wandering

Lost in the sauce: the effects of alcohol on mind wandering
Lost in the sauce: the effects of alcohol on mind wandering
Alcohol consumption alters consciousness in ways that make drinking both alluring and hazardous. Recent advances in the study of consciousness using a mind-wandering paradigm permit a rigorous examination of the effects of alcohol on experiential consciousness and metaconsciousness. Fifty-four male social drinkers consumed alcohol (0.82 g/kg) or a placebo beverage and then performed a mind-wandering reading task. This task indexed both self-caught and probe-caught zone-outs to distinguish between mind wandering inside and outside of awareness. Compared with participants who drank the placebo, those who drank alcohol were significantly more likely to report that they were zoning out when probed. After this increase in mind wandering was accounted for, alcohol also lowered the probability of catching oneself zoning out. The results suggest that alcohol increases mind wandering while simultaneously reducing the likelihood of noticing one's mind wandering. Findings are discussed with regard to theories of alcohol and theories of consciousness.
0956-7976
747-752
Sayette, Michael A.
dd98b541-9f71-4104-b2ec-2c361b704d31
Reichle, Erik D.
44dc4e6a-e5e2-47c5-9a09-2ef759db0583
Schooler, Jonathan W.
c18a569a-c002-4840-b02d-9fc17e45af16
Sayette, Michael A.
dd98b541-9f71-4104-b2ec-2c361b704d31
Reichle, Erik D.
44dc4e6a-e5e2-47c5-9a09-2ef759db0583
Schooler, Jonathan W.
c18a569a-c002-4840-b02d-9fc17e45af16

Sayette, Michael A., Reichle, Erik D. and Schooler, Jonathan W. (2009) Lost in the sauce: the effects of alcohol on mind wandering. Psychological Science, 20 (6), 747-752. (doi:10.1111/j.1467-9280.2009.02351.x). (PMID:19422627)

Record type: Article

Abstract

Alcohol consumption alters consciousness in ways that make drinking both alluring and hazardous. Recent advances in the study of consciousness using a mind-wandering paradigm permit a rigorous examination of the effects of alcohol on experiential consciousness and metaconsciousness. Fifty-four male social drinkers consumed alcohol (0.82 g/kg) or a placebo beverage and then performed a mind-wandering reading task. This task indexed both self-caught and probe-caught zone-outs to distinguish between mind wandering inside and outside of awareness. Compared with participants who drank the placebo, those who drank alcohol were significantly more likely to report that they were zoning out when probed. After this increase in mind wandering was accounted for, alcohol also lowered the probability of catching oneself zoning out. The results suggest that alcohol increases mind wandering while simultaneously reducing the likelihood of noticing one's mind wandering. Findings are discussed with regard to theories of alcohol and theories of consciousness.

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Published date: June 2009
Organisations: Psychology

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Local EPrints ID: 348431
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/348431
ISSN: 0956-7976
PURE UUID: ccc92244-e2f7-47df-a618-f9d60237d1e9

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Date deposited: 13 Feb 2013 10:57
Last modified: 14 Mar 2024 12:59

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Contributors

Author: Michael A. Sayette
Author: Erik D. Reichle
Author: Jonathan W. Schooler

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