How alcohol consumption affects face memory
Wednesday, 19 February, 2025
New research has revealed that alcohol can impair the ability of eyewitnesses to accurately recall a suspect's facial features, particularly key details such as the eyes, nose, and mouth.
Intoxicated offenders commit around half the 1.4 million violent incidents reported annually in England and Wales, and alcohol is the drug most likely to be found in perpetrators and victims of violent crime.
A study, led by the University of Portsmouth, conducted experiments to explore how alcohol consumption affects face memory.
Thirty-eight participants, all of whom had normal or corrected to normal vision, consumed either alcoholic or non-alcoholic drinks before viewing videos of unfamiliar female faces. The following day, they were asked to describe these faces.
Those who drank alcohol had more difficulty accurately recalling internal facial features compared to the sober participants, but they could still remember external features like hairstyles. Interestingly, whether or not the models’ hair was tied back or worn loose did not influence recall accuracy.
The paper, published in the journal Memory, says this suggests that alcohol narrows attention to more noticeable external features, while impairing memory for the defining internal facial features that are crucial for suspect identification.
Lead author Dr Alistair Harvey, a Visiting Researcher at the University of Portsmouth’s Department of Psychology, said: “Given that many crimes occur in bars and nightclubs where witnesses may have been drinking, these findings have important implications for law enforcement.
“Getting accurate perpetrator descriptions from witnesses is crucial for locating and identifying suspects - especially during line-ups.”
The study builds on previous research by Dr Harvey and his colleague Danny Tomlinson, which found drunk people are only able to concentrate on external facial features - such as hair and face shape - and not internal features like the eyes and mouth.
“There is a phenomenon known as alcohol myopia, which results in attentional shortsightedness when consuming alcohol”, explained Dr Harvey.
“We suspected this could have an impact on how well people can identify perpetrators of crimes they witness while drunk, and wanted to put it to the test.”
The study’s authors recommend that police and forensic interviewers take these findings into account when questioning witnesses and developing suspect descriptions.
They also suggest further research - with a larger group of participants - to explore how different interviewing techniques might mitigate alcohol's impact on memory recall.
Dr Sarah Bayless from the University of Winchester’s Department of Psychology, said: “The study underscores the importance of gathering multiple witness accounts and using additional evidence, such as CCTV footage, when investigating crimes.
“Given that intoxicated individuals are frequently present at crime scenes - whether as victims, witnesses, or perpetrators - understanding the effects of alcohol on memory is critical.”
