A laboratory experiment and two field studies tested the hypothesis that alcohol affects attitudes and investigations toward driving and driving. Sober and intoxicated participants completed a questionnaire assessing their attitudes and intentions to drink and drive in a number of situations. Results indicated that when asked general or noncontigent questions, sober and intoxicated participants were equally negative about this behavior. However, when a contingency was embedded in the question (e.g., "would you drink and drive only a short distance?"), intoxicated participants were significantly less negative about drinking and driving. These results are consistent with `alcohol myopia' (C.M. Steele & R.A. Josephs, 1990); the notion that alcohol intoxication decreases cognitive capacity so that people are more likely to attend to only the most salient cues.
Samenvatting