The effect of alcohol and placebo on affective reactions of social drinkers to a procedure designed to induce depressive affect anxiety and hostility.
Randomly assigned 33 males to one of three alcohol conditions: High dose (two groups), placebo, and no-dose. All Ss after drinking performed a pseudo test of intelligence. One group of high-dose Ss received feedback that indicated an extremely good performance on the intelligence task (Incentive Gain), while all other Ss received extremely poor performance scores (Incentive Loss). Analysis of pre-post feedback scores on the Multiple Affect Adjective Check List indicated differential effect of alcohol and placebo with no change of depressive affect in the two high-dose alcohol groups, but an increase in placebo Ss. Furthermore, incentive loss high-dose Ss rated themselves as significantly more intoxicated than did incentive gain high-dose Ss. The results are discussed in terms of attribution for success and failure, cognitions and depressive affect, and tension reduction models of alcoholism.
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000339:Affect; D000428:Alcohol Drinking; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000523:psychology*; D001007:Anxiety / Q000209:etiology*; D003863:Depression / Q000209:etiology*; D006791:Hostility; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009042:Motivation; D010919:Placebos; D012054:Reinforcement, Psychology; D012919:Social Behavior
D010919:Placebos