This study examined how acute alcohol intoxication and alcohol expectancies affect women's memory of a simulated rape scenario. 78 women participated in a study with a 2 (alcohol vs tonic beverage) x 2 (told drink was alcohol vs tonic) between-subjects design. Women viewed a rape scenario and were later tested on their memory of events. Results showed that women accurately remembered consensual activities regardless of intoxication. While intoxicated women were less accurate about the perpetrator's behavior, alcohol consumption and expectancy did not significantly impact accuracy. Women expecting alcohol performed better overall. Confidence in memory correlated with greater accuracy, regardless of intoxication. The study suggests alcohol may not necessarily impair memory quality but a higher dose may
Remembering Rape: How Alcohol Affects Victim Memory
1. REMEMBERING RAPE: THE
EFFECTS OF ACUTE
ALCOHOL INTOXICATION
AND ALCOHOL
EXPECTANCIES ON
WOMEN’S MEMORY FOR
FORENSIC INFORMATION
IN RAPE SCENARIOS
Heather D. Flowe1 and Lisa E. Smith2
1University of Birmingham, School of Psychology
2University of Leicester, Criminology
2. Alcohol and Sexual Violence
473,000 adults in England and Wales are victims of sexual
offenses per year on average (Home Office, 2013)
Estimates for rape and attempted rape have ranged up to an
annual high of 1.27 million persons in the U.S. (National
Research Council, 2014)
3. Alcohol and
Sexual Violence
Alcohol is often antecedent to sexual assault, with up to
75% involving alcohol use on the part of the victim, the
perpetrator, or both (Stern, 2010)
Prosecutors reject 65% of rape cases (Flowe et al.,
2011), most often citing victim considerations such as
alcohol use
Alcohol:
Prejudicial aspect
Probative aspect
4. Alcohol and Sexual Assault
“Advocates and SANEs [Sexual Assault Nurse
Examiners] get frustrated when we can’t move
forward with an investigation, but sometimes we
can’t because the victim doesn’t remember what
happened or there are inconsistencies [in her story].”
From Cole & Logan (2010)
5. Alcohol and memory: blackouts
Fragmentary blackout
A person is able to remember
partial information; memory
formation is incomplete
more common than en bloc
En bloc blackout
Alcohol blackout can occur at high
levels of intoxication (e.g., BAC =
.14 to .27%)
A person will have no memory and
not be able to recall anything about
events that took place for a stretch
of time
Sensory and short-term memory
are preserved
6. Alcohol’s Effects on Memory
• Alcohol expectancies affect
attention and memory, with women
demonstrating increased
hypervigilance in risky sexual
scenarios (Flowe et al., 2015;
Testa, 2006)
• Alcohol affects completeness but
not the accuracy of recall Hagsand, Roos af
Hjelmsäter, Granhag, Fahlke, & Söderpalm Gordh, 2012; Harvey, Kneller &
Campbell, 2013; Hildebrand Karlén, Roos af Hjelmsäter, Fahlke, Granhag, &
Söderpalm Gordh, 2014; Schreiber Compo et al., 2012; Schreiber Compo et al.,
2017; Van Oorsouw, & Merckelbach, 2012 )
7. Research Questions
Does acute alcohol intoxication affect the victim’s
ability to remember details about the sexual activity
that took place during the rape?
Can victims who were intoxicated accurately
remember the sequence of activities that occurred?
Are women more likely to be accurate if they are
confident their memory is accurate?
16. 0 .0 0
0 .0 2
0 .0 4
0 .0 6
0 .0 8
0 .1 0
0 .1 2
0 .1 4
0 .0 0 0 .1 0 0 .2 0 0 .3 0 0 .4 0 0 .5 0 0 .6 0 0 .7 0 0 .8 0 0 .9 0 1 .0 0
Intimate E ncounte r S urv iv al T ime
OddsIntercourseProsecutedasRape
M oderate High
Consent Level, Sexual History,
and Prosecuting Rape
(Flowe & Ebbesen, 2007)
Flowe, H.D. & Ebbesen, E.B. (2007). Rape shield laws and sexual behavior evidence: Effects of consent level and women’s
sexual history on rape allegations. Law and Human Behavior, 1, 159-175.
17. Stage 1 Stage 2 Stage 3
7 days later
Screening
Beverage
Manipulation
Rape
Post-
event
Narrative
Interview
Recog
Test
18. Stage 1 Stage 2 Stage 3
7 days later
Screening
Beverage
Manipulation
Rape
Post-
event
Narrative
Interview
Recog
Test
19. Results
0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
0.6
0.7
0.8
0.9
1
Told Alcohol Told Tonic
Consensual Activity Memory
Accuracy
Alcohol
Tonic
Women accurately
remembered the sexual
activities to which they
had consented
Alcohol consumption
and expectancy did not
affect memory accuracy
20. Results
Women less accurately
remembered the
perpetrator’s behavior
during the rape
Alcohol consumption
and expectancy were
not significantly
associated with
decreased accuracy
0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
0.6
0.7
0.8
0.9
1
Told Alcohol Told Tonic
Rape Memory Accuracy
Alcohol
Tonic
21. Results
Women who expected to
consume alcohol remembered
more accurately overall
0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
0.6
0.7
0.8
ProportionCorrect
Memory Accuracy Overall
Expect
Alcohol
Expect
Tonic
22. Results
Women’s memory for
sequence did not vary
in relation to alcohol
consumption or
expectancy
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
Told Alcohol Told Tonic
Errors
Sequence Difference
Alcohol
Tonic
23. Results
Women’s ability to
evaluate the likely
accuracy of their
memory did not vary
with alcohol
consumption
There was an
association between
confidence and
accuracy: As confidence
in memory increased,
memory accuracy
increased
.00
.10
.20
.30
.40
.50
.60
.70
.80
.90
1.00
0 10-40% 50-70% 80-100%
Accuracy
Confidence
Beverage Results
Perfect
calibration
Consumed
Alcohol
Consumed
Placebo
24. Conclusion
Does acute alcohol intoxication affect the victim’s ability to
remember details about the sexual activity that took place during
the rape?
Women who believed they consumed alcohol had better memory
performance. Alcohol consumption itself did not affect performance.
Can victims who were intoxicated accurately remember the
sequence of activities that occurred? Yes
Are women more likely to be accurate if they are confident their
memory is accurate?
Yes, and alcohol consumption does not affect the association between
confidence and accuracy
25. Implications, Limitations and
Future Directions
Alcohol does not necessarily affect the quality of memory reports
Larger dose of alcohol necessary
Field research may enable higher doses, but the trade-off is that
alcohol expectancy cannot be studied