A balanced placebo investigation of the effects of alcohol vs. alcohol expectancy on simulated driving behavior.
The present investigation employed a balanced placebo design to examine the effects of alcohol versus the belief that one has consumed alcohol, i.e. alcohol expectancy, on error production while operating a driving simulator. The male subjects employed were social drinkers, having no history of alcohol abuse. The alcoholic beverage consisted of vodka and tonic in the ratio of 1:5, resulting in a mean blood alcohol level of .064%. The placebo beverage consisted of water and tonic, also in the ration 1:5. Principal findings were that alcohol ingestion had a debilitating effect on certain measures of driving behavior (operation of brakes, steering), whereas the belief that one had consumed alcohol had no discernable effects. The results are discussed in relation to other findings using the balanced placebo design. It was concluded that reckless driving under the influence of alcohol, is at least partly a result of the pharmological effects of ethanol.