Behavior is something that involves cognition, by definition behavior is the way in which an animal or person acts in response to a particular situation or stimulus. This study set out to explore the relationship between visual and olfactory cues of alcohol and how they affect a person’s inhibitory control. Research has been conducted by a team from the United Kingdom (Edge Hill University), they suggest that even the smell of alcohol may make it harder for people to control their behavior. The team also suggest that the smell of alcohol may drive some to want to consume alcohol. The team conducted an experiment in which the participants wore a mask (one sprayed with alcohol and another with a citrus solution) and had to press a button when the letter K was displayed or when a beer bottle appeared on screen. The team found that participants were more mistake prone when wearing the mask that was sprayed with alcohol. Past studies have found that the sight of alcohol can lead to physiological arousal and salivation, therefore, the team believes that this indicates that the smell and sight of alcohol may stimulate cognitive responses that increases the likelihood of consumption. A researcher noted that it seemed like that just the smell of alcohol alone was enough to make it harder for some participants to control their behavior. In essence the smell of alcohol was enough to effect certain individuals’ decision making skills. The team figured that the more a person drank the more likely it was for them to be engaged when presented with alcohol related cues. The team has concluded that they need to validate the results of the study in a real world setting, however they are excited as this research could provide new insight into the world of addiction and substance abuse. The website where this topic came from is a medical news website; the website appears to be fairly reputable, which is always relaxing. The website’s layout is streamlined; you are able to select topics by the letter that it starts with; the site offers a wide array of medical topics that range from Abortion to Women’s Health. The webpage is a great source for medical information and news; articles are posted on the webpage frequently, and users are allowed to express their opinions on them. Everything seems to be in place, whether that pertains to domain name registration or to citing sources. Overall, I think that the research that has been done is very interesting. I was really surprised to see that even the smell of alcohol is enough to effect someone’s behavior. I initially thought that the smell of alcohol wouldn’t alter anyone’s behavior in a major way, but the research seems to prove me wrong. I for some reason suspect, that in a real life situation, this would be a little difficult to replicate due to the small amount of alcohol in relation to the vast amount of elements that are found in our air. Nonetheless, it is amazing that the smell of something such as alcohol can alter cognitive behavior.
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