Abstract
The influence of alcohol and loud music on analytic versus holistic processing was examined in classification, concept learning, and embedded figures tasks. In the classification task, loud music reduced analytic responding by individuals who had consumed alcohol and increased analytic responding by individuals who had received placebo drinks. Alcohol also decreased the speed with which individuals were able to generate analytic responses in the classification task and decreased analytic performance on the embedded figures test. Alcohol slowed the rate of learning in the concept-learning task but did not lead to less analytic responding in that task. The results are consistent with the idea that alcohol slows the rate of information processing, particularly in tasks requiring visual analysis of stimuli.
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This paper is based on a senior thesis conducted by the second author under the direction of the first author.
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Ward, T.B., Lewis, S.N. The influence of alcohol and loud music on analytic and holistic processing. Perception & Psychophysics 41, 179–186 (1987). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03204879
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03204879