Subjective effects of alcohol: the influence of setting and individual differences in alcohol expectancies.

Abstract

Contemporary theorists view many alcohol effects as compelx functions of a number of interacting variables ranging from pharmacological factors (e.g., limb of the blood alcohol curve), environmental factors (e.g., setting) and dispositional factors (e.g., individually held expectations concerning the effects of alcohol). To examine this general model, the joint effects on subjective state of beverage (alcohol vs. placebo), of setting (alone vs. group) and of individual differences in alcohol expectancies were examined in a sample of 98 men social drinkers. Assessment of subjective state included measures of both mood and perceived physical sensations. The complex determinants of subjective effects of alcohol were demonstrated and the difficulty of making strong generalizations concerning the subjective effects of alcohol was illustrated. Alcohol consumption, alcohol expectancies and setting appear to have both independent and interacting effects on subjective state. These effects appear to vary in importance across the types of effects considered and the time since drinking.