Mixing Drinks
Materials Needed:
· The ethyl alcohol container (in left cabinet under
sink)
· The vodka bottle filled with water (the bottle says
the vodka is 100 proof)
· Cranberry/Tang juice mixer (see instructions for mixture if needed)
· 2 clean glasses (in left cabinet under sink)
· Small and large graduated cylinder (in left cabinet
under sink)
· Funnel
· Spray bottle (in refrigerator. Contains 1:1 ethyl alcohol to water)
· Syringe (in left drawer under sink)
· Small container of ethyl alcohol (in refrigerator)
· Information from BAL calculator (on session form)
Materials Specific to Placebo:
· Syringe without the tip (to float some alcohol on top
of the drinks)
· Vodka bottle (in refrigerator)
· Small container of ethyl alcohol (in refrigerator)
To make the placebo more believable, you will need to talk the participants through the procedure. In particular, there will be two times where you need to memorize a brief script to discuss the procedure with the participants. It is also important to use the no- alcohol scripts with the control participants. These scripts are below:
Alcohol/Placebo
groups
You have been
assigned to the group that receives alcohol.
This means that once we give you the alcohol, we will need to keep you
in the lab until your blood alcohol level is .02 or lower. People vary in how long it takes them to
return to this level after drinking, but typically the total experiment lasts
about 5 hours from this point for participants in the alcohol group. Finally, you need to know that even if you
discontinue your participation in the experiment for any reason, we will still
need to keep you here until your BAL reaches the release threshold.
No-alcohol group
You have been
assigned to the group that does NOT receive alcohol. This means that you will consume beverages
that do not contain any alcohol.
Alcohol/Placebo groups
Now we are going to mix your drinks for you. We are going to mix them into 2 equal size drinks that you will consume in a span of 30 minutes. We are going to make you a Seabreeze, which contains cranberry juice, orange juice, and vodka. After quite a bit of experimenting, we think we have perfected the mixture, so that this Seabreeze should taste as good as any you will find in a bar (Say this half kidding and half serious). The dose is designed to bring you to a blood alcohol level of about .08, which is legally intoxicated in many states. This is equivalent to 2-3 drinks in a 160-pound man in an hour. People vary in how they experience this dose, but most find it either mildly or moderately intoxicating.
No-alcohol group
Now we are going to mix your drinks for you. We are going to mix them into 2 equal size drinks that you will consume in a span of 30 minutes. We are going to make you a drink which contains cranberry juice and orange juice.
Mixing
Procedure
Exactly the same procedure is used
for the alcohol and placebo groups. The
only difference is which alcohol container is used and the addition of 2mls
“floater” to the placebo drinks. Use the
ethyl alcohol container for the alcohol group and the vodka bottle under the
sink for the placebo group. Only do steps 1, 4, 5, and 6 for the control
groups.
1. Measure out cranberry/orange juice volume into large
graduated cylinder as indicated by the BAL calculator.
2. Pour “vodka” out of the vodka bottle into small
graduated cylinder. For the alcohol group, use the funnel to pour into the
cylinder. You should measure out the exact dosage that was indicated by the BAL
calculator. Make sure that you measure
the “vodka” EXACTLY. You should measure
the volume of the water from the meniscus (which is the bottom of the concave
surface of the liquid). Make sure that
the cylinder is sitting on a level surface while conducting these measurements.
3. Pour “vodka” from the small graduated cylinder into
the large graduated cylinder. Make sure
that you pour the “vodka” into the CENTER of the cranberry/orange juice to
avoid having the alcohol run down the side of the cylinder. Shake out the small
cylinder to make sure no drops remain.
4. Pour all (or most) of the mixture into one of the
glasses, and then back into the large graduated cylinder to mix the water and
cranberry juice. Be very careful not to
spill the mixture at this point.
v All of
these procedures are the same when mixing alcoholic beverages as well as the
placebo drinks, and we need to do all of these things for the placebo to be
believable and effective.
5. Pour the mixture into both glasses now, making sure
that there are equal amounts of the mixture in both drinks.
6. Place the drinks in the refrigerator, and then escort
the participant into the other room and tell them to have a seat in the
experimenting chair.
7. After you have brought the participant to the other
room, take a single drink out of the refrigerator, as well as the container marked
as the Floater, and the spray bottle.
8. For the
Placebo Condition only: Use the syringe to draw EXACTLY 2ml of alcohol from
the container, and then put 2ml of alcohol into the drink. This procedure is called floating, so try not
to spray the alcohol into the drink, but rather drizzle around the top.
9. For both
Alcohol and Placebo Conditions: Place the drink in the sink and
use the spray bottle to mist the inside of the glass and the rim. This provides the smell of alcohol, and it is
very important that you quickly give the drinks to the participant before the
mist evaporates.
10. After the first drink is finished follow the exact
same procedure for the second one.
1. Rinse out both graduated cylinders, as well as the
drink glasses with hot water.
2. Use the dish soap and the sponge to thoroughly clean
out the containers.
3. Rinse again with hot water.
4. Use the paper towels located in the towel rack to dry
the containers, and then replace underneath the sink.