116 



PSYCHOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF ALCOHOL. 



As we already know, there is considerable practice effect in associ- 

 ation-reaction time, and the influence of alcohol might be obscured by 

 it. The most we can do is to observe the relation of the first and fourth 

 normal days to the days on which alcohol was given. The accom- 

 panying curves (fig. 23) show this graphically for the different subjects. 



In figure 23, the average reaction times for the normal days are con- 

 nected, also those for the alcohol days. If the alcohol produces no 

 effect, the line connecting the experiments should approximately coin- 

 cide with that of the non-alcohol days. It very nearly does so in the 

 case of Subject IX, though in the third experiment it is a little higher. 

 Subject VI is slower with the smaller dose and nearly equal to normal 

 with the larger one. Subject III is perhaps a little faster with alcohol; 

 Subject II somewhat slower; and Subject IV distinctly so. In con- 

 templating the size of the variations in the individual series, it is plain 

 that these differences are not too large to be due to chance, neither are 

 they systematically distributed. 



TABLE 14. Average differences in measurements of ivord-reaclion time. 1 

 [Values given in hundredths of a second.] 



Differences obtained by subtracting the values for each of the series B to F 

 from the values for the series A. (See table 13.) 



Each experiment consists of 6 series of 50 associations. We may 

 compare the differences between the normal of the day and subsequent 

 series in the rate of reaction shown on the alcohol and normal days. 

 On the normal days Subjects II, IV, and X average an increase in the 

 reaction-time, as is shown in table 13. On the alcohol days marked 

 progressive increases are shown in the averages of Subjects VII and IX; 

 the progressive decrease is less in Subject VI. Subject IV shows no 

 significant change. Subjects II and III show a greater lengthening 

 of reaction-time in. the alcohol series. Subject X changes from a pro- 

 gressive increase in rate without alcohol to a progressive decrease with 

 it. Not only is this quite irregular, but the alcohol and non-alcohol 



