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Friday, August 29, 2008

A Message in a Bottle: Extrapharmacological Effects of Alcohol on Aggression
Journal of Experimental Social Psychology Article in Press 19 August 2008


The physiological and expectancy effects of alcohol consumption on the aggressive behavior of 116 general-population males aged 18-45 years were analyzed separately in a naturalistic field experiment using a 3x3 Balanced Placebo Design (BPD).

Participants were given a nonalcoholic drink, a drink targeting a Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) of .05%, or a drink targeting a BAC of .1%. Within these three groups, three expectancy levels were induced regarding the quantity of alcohol ingested. Aggressive behavior was measured as retaliation against an aggressive confederate, in the form of amounts of hot sauce and salt administered in a taste test.

Expectancies significantly increased aggressive behavior, whereas actual quantity of alcohol ingested was unrelated to aggression. Aggressive dispositions also predicted aggressive behavior.

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Request Reprint E-Mail: Laurent.Begue@upmf-grenoble.fr
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