The Effects of Alcohol & Placebos on Eyewitness Memory

描述(申请人提供)：在美国，几乎三分之一的暴力犯罪涉及酒精或其他毒品，这些犯罪的目击者也可能醉酒。鉴于酒精在犯罪中的普遍存在，以及错误的目击者证据是美国错判的主要原因，了解酒精在目击者记忆账户中的作用至关重要。虽然我们知道酒精对各种行为具有单独的生理和心理影响，但我们对这些影响对目击者记忆和扭曲易感性的组合一无所知。我们的研究计划的首要目标是调查醉酒目击者记忆报告的可靠性，并评估误导性建议对醉酒证人的影响。这项拟议的研究有三个目的。目的1：采用均衡的安慰剂设计，分别研究酒精对目击者记忆扭曲的生理和心理影响，以及这两种机制之间的相互作用。目的2：通过三个阶段的目击任务(犯罪目击、不准确的证人陈述和记忆测试)操纵酒精或酒精安慰剂给药的时间，以评估酒精影响记忆和扭曲易感性的认知加工的不同阶段。目的3：研究人们关于酒精对记忆的影响的信念之间的关系，以及获得关于酒精或安慰剂影响下的认知功能的自我报告。这项研究的长期目标不仅是让心理学，而且还让医学界和法律界了解酒精对目击者记忆账户的生理和心理影响。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Almost a third of violent crimes committed in the United States involve alcohol or other drugs, and eyewitnesses to these crimes may also be intoxicated. Given alcohol's prevalence in crime situations, and the fact that mistaken eyewitness evidence is the leading cause of wrongful convictions in the US, it is crucial to understand alcohol's role on eyewitness memory accounts. Although we know that alcohol has separate physiological and psychological effects on various behaviors, we know nothing about the combination of these effects on eyewitness memory and susceptibility to distortion. The overarching goal of our research proposal is to investigate the reliability of drunken eyewitness's memory reports, and to evaluate the effects of misleading suggestions on intoxicated witnesses. There are three aims to the proposed study. Aim 1: Separately examine the physiological and psychological effects of alcohol, as well as any interaction between these two mechanisms, on eyewitness memory distortions using a balanced placebo design. Aim 2: Manipulate the timing of the alcohol or alcohol placebo administration throughout a three staged eyewitness task (witnessing of crime, presentation of inaccurate witness statements, and memory test) to evaluate the various stages of cognitive processing at which alcohol affects memory and susceptibility to distortion. Aim 3: Examine the relationship between people's beliefs about alcohol's effects on memory, as well as obtain self-reports about cognitive functioning under the influence of alcohol or placebos. The long term goal of this research is to inform not only psychological science, but also the medical and legal communities about the physiological and psychological effects of alcohol on eyewitness memory accounts.