Aggressive behavior of intoxicated subjects. The effect of third-party intervention.

Abstract

Forty male undergraduates competed with opponents (confederates) in 19 trials of a reaction-time task in which the participants had to decide on the severity of punishment for the future losers; the punishment consisted of an electric shock ranging in intensity from 1-10. The frequency of the wins and losses was programmed by the experimenter. In trials 1-12 the opponents shocked the subjects at a mean intensity of 8; in trials 13-18 at an intensity of 1. Before the experiment half of the subjects drank 1.25 g of alcohol/kg of body wt in the form of vodka and ginger ale, and half drank a placebo. Half of the subjects in each group competed in the presence of an observer who attempted to reduce their aggressive responding through verbal persuasion (pressured subjects), and half competed in the presence of a silent observer (nonpressured). In trials 1-12 intoxicated and nonintoxicated subjects set mean shock intensities of 5.66 and 4.20, respectively (P < .05); the pressured and nonpressured intoxicated subjects set mean shock intensities of 4.30 and 7.02 (P < .02). All pressured subjects significantly reduced the shock intensities from trial 1-12. In trials 12-18 the pressured and nonpressured intoxicated subjects set mean shock intensities of about 3.75 and 5.25 (P < .05), but the decrease in shock intensity was not universal.sbd.about half of the pressured intoxicated subjects increased the shock intensities from trial 12 on. Following the competitive task the subjects rated their opponents and observers on a series of bipolar adjectives. The pressured intoxicated subjects rated their opponents more favorably than did the nonpressured intoxicated subjects. The pressured intoxicated subjects rated the observers more favorably than did the nonpressured intoxicated subjects. Third-party intervention apparently is an effective method of reducing the aggressive behavior of intoxicated persons.