Alcohol and cognition: ego threat as a moderator

This study examined how ego threat (negative feedback) interacts with alcohol consumption to influence cognitive performance. We hypothesized ego threat would moderate the effects of alcohol on impulse control and attention in 30 college students (21-49 years). A 2×2 factorial design assessed performance on the Visual Search Task (attention) and Go/No-Go Task (impulse control) under laboratory and naturalistic settings, while sober or intoxicated. Alcohol consumption impaired performance, as evidenced by slower reaction times during visual search. An interaction effect emerged, with the combination of alcohol and ego threat further compromising reaction times. Interestingly, higher baseline impulsivity correlated with faster reaction times when sober. These findings corroborate prior research on alcohol's negative impact on executive functions and suggest a potential moderating role of ego threat on higher-order cognitive processes, warranting further investigation.

Grantor dc:publisher

University of Tennessee at Chattanooga

Author dc:creator

• Prince, Erin

Contributors dc:contributor

• Arnold, Tomorrow D.
• Madden, Julie; Shelton, Jill T.
• College of Arts and Sciences

• Cognition--Effect of drugs on
• Alcohol--Physiological effect

Licence

• http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

Language dc:language

English, eng

Repository record dc:identifier

https://scholar.utc.edu/theses/964

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:scholar.utc.edu:theses-2141