EFFECTS OF DEXTRO-AMPHETAMINE UPON JUDGMENT

¹ School of Aviation Medicine, USAF, Randolph Air Force Base, Texas

Ninety-six male basic airmen volunteers were randomly assigned to the 24 combinations of experimental conditions given by 4 pharmacological treatments, d-amphetamine (5 mgm.) scopolamine (0.65 mgm.) plus diphenhydramine hydrochloride (50 mgm.), placebo and no drug; 3 task conditions which permitted variation in the difficulty of the task assigned to the subjects; and 2 standard referents which were expected to induce feelings of success and failure. One hour following administration of the appropriate drug, they were then required to learn a mirror vision task. Before beginning each of the 14 test trials, they were told their proficiency score attained on the test trial just completed, saw that score plotted against a referent curve which was represented as "the average score made by most people", and then were asked to estimate the proficiency score they expected to attain in the test trial about to be performed. The absolute and algebraic differences between the proficiency estimated and the proficiency actually attained were computed and these measures of estimation error, as well as measures of actual performance, were then analyzed.

d-Amphetamine sulfate (5 mgm.) and diphenhydramine hydrochloride (50 mgm.) plus scopolamine (0.65 mgm.) did not influence significantly the judiciousness with which estimations were normally made despite the imposition of experimental conditions designed to elicit or augment whatever adverse effects may be inherent in these pharmacological preparations. Also unaffected was the actual mirror vision performance.

The different conditions of task difficulty did effect significant differences in the error of estimation during the very beginning of the task and in mirror vision performance throughout the task.

The different standard referents did not produce significant differences in error of estimation but did effect significant differences in mirror vision performance during the early part of this task.