Alcohol and aggression: a social information processing analysis.
The present study represents a preliminary exploration of the effects of alcohol on aggression (a hypothetical response to a videotaped provocation), using a social information processing model. Subjects were male social drinkers who received either a control beverage (ginger ale), placebo, .45 g/kg alcohol or .85 g/kg alcohol. Subjects observed a series of videotaped scenes of potential conflict occurring in the lounge of a college dormitory. In these scenes, an intruder switched the channel on a television set without asking the person watching for permission. The four groups were similar in their ability to encode and interpret social cues. Subjects in the 0.85 g/kg group were less able to generate competent (nonaggressive) solutions and were less likely than controls to select adaptive (nonaggressive) solutions. Subjects in the .85 g/kg group were more likely than control subjects to respond aggressively after being frustrated by the intruder's negative reaction to the initial attempt to resolve the conflict.
Sayette
M A
MA
Department of Psychology, University of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15260.
Wilson
G T
GT
Elias
M J
MJ
D000328:Adult; D000374:Aggression / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000523:psychology; D000435:Alcoholic Intoxication / Q000523:psychology*; D003220:Conflict, Psychological; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D000431:Ethanol / Q000493:pharmacokinetics; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011340:Problem Solving / Q000187:drug effects*; D012931:Social Environment; D012938:Social Perception
D000431:Ethanol