Unhealthy drinking habits are on the rise and despite the efforts implemented by schools, just under 2,000 college students die a year from unintentional alcohol-related injuries (Hingson & White, 2014). Figuring out what leads students to binge drinking is crucial to finding a preventive solution to slow down drinking rates. This study’s purpose is to better understand the relationship between alcohol consumption and the description, perception, and recall of sensory experiences. This study analyzed if certain senses stick out after a drunk experience, and what specific sensory inputs were more dominant. It is important to know how drinking habits can influence sensory processing to better understand what environmental factors are more influential and memorable. Overconsumption of alcohol can be dangerous and cause impaired senses, blacking out, alcohol poisoning, or death. Having a better understanding of how drinking impacts sensory perception by breaking down the senses and analyzing dominant sensory memories can help to inform and protect from unsafe drinking in certain environments. This study collected data from college students at a midsized, midwestern college through an online survey called the Student Health Survey. The data is qualitative, asking students about a recent heavy drinking experience, and surveying them about the senses they remember experiencing. The results suggested that certain senses are remembered more often when recalling a drinking experience, and specific inputs are more dominant in responses. These results imply that there may be a trend between forming long-term sensory memories during a drinking experience and the type of inputs in the drinking environment. Certain inputs such as flashing lights, loud sounds, and negative scents may be more impactful and therefore memorable than other sensory inputs. This study is important to understand how drinking habits can influence sensory processing which could lead to further dangerous decision-making and binge drinking.
Author(s): Angelina Fichtner & Rose Marie Ward, Ph.D.
Advisor(s): Rose Marie Ward, Department of Psychology
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