Being drunk 'a trick of the mind

BBC ^ | today | BBC Staff

[Rodney King]

The feeling of being drunk is partly in the mind, say psychologists.

A person's memory is impaired if they believe they are drinking alcohol even when it is really water, a study has found.

They had nothing stronger than plain flat tonic water with limes

University in New Zealand tricked 148 students into believing they were drinking vodka to study the so- called placebo effect.

The undergraduates were given drinks in a room set up like a pub with bartenders, vodka bottles and glasses.

Half were told they were drinking vodka and half tonic water. In reality, they were all given plain water with limes.

Afterwards, the students were shown slides of a crime and were asked to assess a story spiked with misleading information.

Memory insights

The researchers found those who thought they were drinking vodka had poorer memory powers than those who knew they were sober. They were also more suggestible and less reliable as eye witnesses.

"We have made people's memory worse by telling them that they were intoxicated even though they had nothing stronger than plain flat tonic water with limes," said co-researcher Maryanne Garry.

"What our research shows is that memory is not just about filing away information like a computer does.

"It's much more than that: memory is what we use to understand and remember events in a social setting, such as witnessing a crime."

Social factors

According to Dr Jim Golby of the University of Teesside in the north of England, it is well known that memory can be affected by perception.

How you perceive a crime is influenced by the state you are in at the time, he said.

He told BBC News Online: "It's not new that memory is affected by social circumstances - that's well documented."

The research is to be published in Psychological Science, a journal of the American Psychological Society.

[Rodney King]

I've know this for a long time. When my friends and I first started drinking (around 15 or 16) we would always give other kids non-alcholic beer and then watch them pretend to be drunk.

[Rodney King]

Of course, how could they be so stupid as to not know the difference in taste between Vodka and water?

[aynrandfreak]

So much for the myth of the meek girl who gets slutty when she's drunk. Also, maybe tonic water makes people slower.

[Rodney King]

Hey, good point. Perhaps now guys won't have to spend $$$ getting girls drunk any more, and can instead just give them water and tell them its vodka.

[general_re]

When my friends and I first started drinking (around 15 or 16) we would always give other kids non-alcholic beer and then watch them pretend to be drunk.

Oh, good - I had this vague feeling of unease at the thought that only my circle of friends was mean enough to do things like that back then ;)

[Nea Wood]

There was an episode of "The Honeymooners" where Kramden's and Norton's wives fed them a nonalcoholic drink, but told them it was alcohol. Then the wives stood there rolling their eyes while the boys behaved in a more and more drunken manner. :-)

[ShadowDancer]

Anyone who's stupid enough that they can't tell the difference between water and vodka doesn't even need to get drunk, they live in their own perpetual idiotic reality.

[FreeTally]

When my friends and I first started drinking (around 15 or 16) we would always give other kids non-alcholic beer and then watch them pretend to be drunk.

LOL!! At summer camp, me and my buddies would give girls bottled fruit drinks and tell them they were wine coolers. Why none checked the label for alcohol content is beyond me.

[Diana Rose]

Ever hear the mating call of a southern belle...

I'm so drunnnk

[colorado tanker]

Anyone who's stupid enough that they can't tell the difference between water and vodka doesn't even need to get drunk, they live in their own perpetual idiotic reality.

I've been in some bars where it's real hard to tell the difference. Those are places you don't go back to.

[EggsAckley]

LOL! I remember that one. What a great show!

[oust the louse]

So do you still pee the same? I have a bladder the size of a dime when I drink.Once the faucet is turned on,I'm up and running....

[azhenfud]

MAN!! What on earth would they do if given Kool-Aid????

[Rodney King]

Me too. It's a good thing though, it limits my drinking. I always have to worry about getting stuck in a long car ride or something.

[jbstrick]

HA!! We did that in College. We had two kegs. One real keg, one with Coors Cutter. It was funny!

[ShadowDancer]

The nastier the bar, the rougher the vodka is (Mohawk, Popov). Those go down as easy as battery acid.

[JmyBryan]

I guess this is the end of tonic water while driving ...

[Feiny]

I may have to try that trick on someone....except we usually drink martinis so it may be a hard sell..."That is the smoothest martini I have ever had!"

[Axenolith]

Sorry but Bowmans Virginia Vodka and Senators Club Vodka take the vile liquid award.

[onedoug]

Laurel & Hardy. Kramden & Norton.