Expectancy and Pharmacological Effects of Alcohol on Human Cognitive and Motor Performance: The Compensation for Alcohol Effect

42 male undergraduate social drinkers were led to expect either alcohol or tonic. After actually consuming no alcohol, a low dosage, or a moderate dosage, they performed various cognitive and motor tasks. A questionnaire assessed Ss\u27 responses to the expectancy manipulation and either preceded or followed task administration. A 2 × 3 × 2 MANOVA resulted in a significant Expectancy × Dosage interaction for cognitive tasks (letter cancellation, digit span, Raven Progressive Matrices). Ss apparently compensated for alcohol-induced deterioration on these tasks when they were aware they had consumed alcohol. No consistent effects were found for motor tasks (finger tapping, stylus monitoring, standing steadiness, and walking steadiness)