Testing Alcohol Myopia Theory: Examining the Effects of Alcohol Intoxication on Simultaneous Central and Peripheral Attention

Abstract

The effect of alcohol intoxication on central and peripheral attention was examined as a test of Alcohol Myopia Theory (AMT). Previous research has supported AMT in the context of visual attention, but few studies have examined the effects of alcohol intoxication on central and peripheral attention. The study followed a 2(alcohol treatment) x 2(array size) x 2(task type) mixed design. Forty-one participants (placebo or intoxicated) viewed an array of 4 or 6 coloured circles, while simultaneously counting the flashes of a centrally presented fixation cross. Participants were instructed to prioritise flash counting accuracy. The subsequently presented coloured probe matched the cued peripheral stimulus on 50% of trials. Flash counting and probe identification accuracy were recorded. There was a significant main effect of alcohol treatment on accuracy scores, as well as an alcohol treatment by task type interaction. Accuracy scores for the central flash counting task did not differ between treatment groups, but scores for peripheral probe identification were lower in the alcohol group. As predicted by AMT, alcohol impairment was greater for peripheral probe detection than for the central and prioritised flash counting task. The findings support the notion that alcohol intoxication narrows attentional focus to the central aspects of a task.

The influence of alcohol and weapon presence on eyewitness memory and confidence

“…Evidence that alcohol restricts attention to the processing of salient visual features is provided by a raft of basic cognitive experiments (e.g., Bayless & Harvey, ; Canto‐Pereira, David, Machado‐Pinheiro, & Ranvaud, ; Clifasefi, Takarangi, & Bergman, ; Harvey, ; Harvey, Bayless, & Hyams, ; Hoyer, Semenec, & Buchler, ; Moskowitz & Sharma, ; Schulte, Müller‐Oehring, Strasburger, Warzel, & Sabel, ) and a small but growing number of applied studies on alcohol and mock‐witness recall (for reviews see Altman et al, ; Jores et al, ). For example, Harvey et al () tracked the eye movements of sober and alcohol (M BAC = 0.06%) participants as they viewed two successive stimulus photographs each depicting a salient real‐world scene as its focus (e.g., riot police apprehending civilians with batons).…”

Alcohol increases inattentional blindness when cognitive resources are not consumed by ongoing task demands

“…There is a good deal of evidence supporting alcohol myopia theory , the idea that alcohol consumption depletes attentional resources inducing a form of “short-sightedness” through which only the most central or important environmental cues are processed (Steele and Josephs 1990 ). In the perception and cognition literature, for example, small to moderate doses of alcohol have been found to slow visual search times for peripheral targets (Hoyer et al 2007 ; Moskowitz and Sharma 1974 ), restrict visual scanning to central and semantically salient image features (Harvey 2014 ; Harvey et al 2013a ; Moser et al 1998 ) and impair attention and memory for peripheral stimuli (Bayless and Harvey 2017 ; Canto-Pereira et al 2007 ; Harvey 2016 ; Schreiber Compo et al 2011 ; Schulte et al 2001 ). Yet, the theory offers no predictions concerning the attentional focus of drinkers faced with competing salient stimuli.…”

Do sexual expectancies and inhibitions predict high-risk sexual behaviours? Evidence from a cross-sectional survey among young psychoactive substance users in the informal settlements of Kampala, Uganda

“…The theoretical point of departure in this study is enshrined in alcohol myopia, cognitive escape, and expectancy theories. These theories provide the basis for discussions on how the use of psychoactive substances influences the users' perceptions and actions (5,6).…”

“…Based on the cognitive escape theory, individuals may opt to use certain substances to escape the self-known implications of high-risk sexual behaviours (11). Similarly, the alcohol myopia theory points out that the use of psychoactive substances such as alcohol often alters perceptions, mood and decision making (5,12). Therefore, psychoactive substances are often used to disengage the mental processes related to the prevention of negative consequences of high-risk sexual behaviour (12,13).…”