Reality monitoring in recovering alcoholics. 1996

L J Burnett, and P H Marshall, and R W Bell
Department of Psychology, Texas Tech University, Lubbock 79409-2051, USA.

OBJECTIVE The major aim of this study was to provide confirmation of the lack of metamemory deficits found in previous research, and we chose reality monitoring as our empirical arena. Reality monitoring is defined as the ability to distinguish between memories for events that have actually occurred and memories for imagined events, with actual events characterized by higher levels of sensory-perceptual information. Further, since detoxified alcoholics have demonstrated perceptual, especially visual, deficits, this study examined whether that would have an adverse effect on reality-monitoring performance. METHODS Young adult, male, detoxified alcoholics (n = 60) and appropriate controls (n = 29) participated in reality-monitoring tasks using, primarily, either visual or verbal information. RESULTS There were no significant differences between the two subject groups on either of the reality-monitoring tasks, and no significant contributions from descriptive, background or educational variables on these tasks. CONCLUSIONS Convergent validation of the previous finding of no metamemory deficits with young, male, recovering alcoholics was obtained. The results also were discussed briefly in the context of alcoholics' quality of memory in therapeutic situations.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D007092 Imagination A new pattern of perceptual or ideational material derived from past experience. Imaginations
D008297 Male Males
D008875 Middle Aged An adult aged 45 - 64 years. Middle Age
D010364 Pattern Recognition, Visual Mental process to visually perceive a critical number of facts (the pattern), such as characters, shapes, displays, or designs. Recognition, Visual Pattern,Visual Pattern Recognition
D011936 Reality Testing The individual's objective evaluation of the external world and the ability to differentiate adequately between it and the internal world; considered to be a primary ego function. Reality Testings,Testing, Reality,Testings, Reality
D011939 Mental Recall The process whereby a representation of past experience is elicited. Recall, Mental
D006801 Humans Members of the species Homo sapiens. Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D000293 Adolescent A person 13 to 18 years of age. Adolescence,Youth,Adolescents,Adolescents, Female,Adolescents, Male,Teenagers,Teens,Adolescent, Female,Adolescent, Male,Female Adolescent,Female Adolescents,Male Adolescent,Male Adolescents,Teen,Teenager,Youths
D000328 Adult A person having attained full growth or maturity. Adults are of 19 through 44 years of age. For a person between 19 and 24 years of age, YOUNG ADULT is available. Adults
D000425 Alcohol Amnestic Disorder A mental disorder associated with chronic ethanol abuse (ALCOHOLISM) and nutritional deficiencies characterized by short term memory loss, confabulations, and disturbances of attention. (Adams et al., Principles of Neurology, 6th ed, p1139) Alcohol-Induced Amnestic Syndrome,Amnestic Psychosis, Alcohol-Induced,Alcohol Amnestic Syndrome,Alcohol-Induced Amnestic Psychosis,Alcohol-Induced Dysmnesic Psychosis,Alcohol-Induced Dysmnesic Syndrome,Alcohol-Induced Persisting Amnestic Disorder,Alcohol Amnestic Disorders,Alcohol Amnestic Syndromes,Alcohol Induced Amnestic Psychosis,Alcohol Induced Amnestic Syndrome,Alcohol Induced Dysmnesic Psychosis,Alcohol Induced Dysmnesic Syndrome,Alcohol Induced Persisting Amnestic Disorder,Alcohol-Induced Amnestic Psychoses,Alcohol-Induced Amnestic Syndromes,Alcohol-Induced Dysmnesic Psychoses,Alcohol-Induced Dysmnesic Syndromes,Amnestic Disorder, Alcohol,Amnestic Psychoses, Alcohol-Induced,Amnestic Psychosis, Alcohol Induced,Amnestic Syndrome, Alcohol-Induced,Amnestic Syndromes, Alcohol-Induced,Dysmnesic Psychoses, Alcohol-Induced,Dysmnesic Psychosis, Alcohol-Induced,Dysmnesic Syndrome, Alcohol-Induced,Dysmnesic Syndromes, Alcohol-Induced,Psychoses, Alcohol-Induced Amnestic,Psychoses, Alcohol-Induced Dysmnesic,Psychosis, Alcohol-Induced Amnestic,Psychosis, Alcohol-Induced Dysmnesic

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