1. State-dependent memory under alcohol How can psychology of memory explain this phenomenon?memory The study of Goodwin et al. (1969):Goodwin et al. (1969): It is well-known that alcoholics hide money or alcohol when drunk. When they are sober again, they have no clue where their money or their booze is. If they are drunken again, they find the hidden objects again. Contributor© POSbase 2003

2. In Goodwin et al‘s experiment, participants had to learn words and later to retrieve them.retrieve There were four groups: LearnRetr.LearnRetr.LearnRetr.LearnRetr. Sober Alcohol State-dependent memory under alcohol Retr. = Retrieval © POSbase 2003

3. Number of errors (Difference to baseline) State-dependent memory under alcohol Not surprisingly, sober participants who were sober during learning made less errors at retrieval than participants who were drunk during learning. © POSbase 2003

4. Number of errors (Difference to baseline) State-dependent memory under alcohol More surprisingly, drunk participants who were sober during learning made more errors at retrieval than participants who were drunk during learning. © POSbase 2003

5. This is a typical case of state-dependent memory: Retention is best when the physiological state is the same during learning and retrieval. Therefore, retention is better if people are either sober or drunk at both times than when they are sober at one time and sober at the other. State-dependent memory can be observed with many drugs. A related phenomenon is context-dependent memory (e.g., Godden & Baddeley, 1975; Smith et al., 1978). Godden & Baddeley, 1975Smith et al., 1978 State-dependent memory under alcohol © POSbase 2003