title: Question-asking strategies in abstinent alcoholics: a study of learning potential.
abstract: The question-asking strategies of 90 Finnish alcoholics were measured on a Vygotskian version of the Twenty Questions procedure. There were two questions to analyse: (1) can the performance of alcoholics be improved by means of instruction in question-asking; and (2) how does the duration of abstinence affect test performance? The results indicated that instruction had a positive effect on the performance of alcoholics. The duration of abstinence had no general effect; its effect was evident only in one type of question, i.e., pseudoconstraint questions. There were marked interindividual differences in both the pre-test and the post-test. About 15% of the subjects showed no noticeable improvement in their post-test performance in spite of the instruction they received.
authors.affiliation: Department of Social Policy, University of Tampere, Finland.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Saarnio
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000425:Alcohol Amnestic Disorder / Q000523:psychology / Q000534:rehabilitation; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000150:complications / Q000523:psychology / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D003210:Concept Formation / Q000187:drug effects*; D000431:Ethanol / Q000009:adverse effects*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011340:Problem Solving / Q000187:drug effects*; D011594:Psychometrics; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000523:psychology / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D014705:Verbal Behavior / Q000187:drug effects*
chemical_list: D000431:Ethanol