Alcohol, Alcoholism and Conditioning: A Review of the Literature and Some Theoretical Considerations

Abstract

Alcoholism is a grave social, economic and psychiatric problem which has attracted the attention of countless research workers and theorists. From a survey of the recent literature two conclusions emerge. Firstly, that there is at present no general agreement as to the aetiology, dynamics and treatment of alcoholism (1). Secondly, that the inadequacies of the majority of the experiments reported are such that the findings are often difficult to interpret and highly limited in their value (2, 3). In many cases the conclusions do not follow from the data; in others they are impossible to evaluate because insufficient procedural details are given; other studies attempt to answer a large number of questions and answer none adequately; some findings are based upon extremely small or atypical samples while others are based upon experiments open to such obvious criticisms that serious consideration is unwarranted. Many of these studies are apparently the by-product of the busy clinician's experiences and consequently lacking in rigour of any description. Remarkably few are predictive in their techniques or based upon any clearly formulated and testable theory. It is hardly surprising that so many fail to satisfy the usual criteria of acceptable scientific research (4).