Bottled memories: On how alcohol affects eyewitness recall |
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| Authors: | Angelica Hagsand Emma Roos Af Hjelmsäter Pär Anders Granhag Claudia Fahlke Anna Söderpalm‐Gordh |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Department of Psychology, University of Gothenburg, , Sweden;2. The Section of Psychiatry and Neurochemistry, Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, , Sweden |
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| 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. |
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| Keywords: | Alcohol eyewitness memory recall delayed interview intoxicated witnesses |
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