1. Bottled memories: On how alcohol affects eyewitness recall.
- Author
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Hagsand, Angelica, Hjelmsäter, Emma Roos Af, Granhag, Pär Anders, Fahlke, Claudia, and Söderpalm‐Gordh, Anna
- Subjects
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ANALYSIS of variance , *BREATH tests , *ALCOHOL drinking , *ETHANOL , *INTERVIEWING , *MEMORY , *RESEARCH funding , *STATISTICAL sampling , *SCALES (Weighing instruments) , *SOUND recordings , *WITNESSES , *DATA analysis software , *DESCRIPTIVE statistics - Abstract
This study investigated how different doses of alcohol affected eyewitness recall. Participants ( N = 126) were randomly assigned to three groups with different blood alcohol concentration ( BAC), either a control group (mean BAC 0.00%, N = 42), a lower alcohol dose group (mean BAC 0.04%, N = 40), or a higher alcohol dose group (mean BAC 0.06%, N = 44). After consumption, participants witnessed a movie of a mock crime and were interviewed one week later. The main results showed that witnesses with the higher intoxication level recalled fewer details compared to witnesses with the lower intoxication level. The amount of alcohol consumed did not have an impact on the accuracy rate. No sex differences were found. The results are discussed in the light of past research. We conclude that more studies are needed before recommendations can be made to an applied setting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2013
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