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Booze and impulsion don't mix.
New research out of Ohio State University says that it’s impulsive people who tend to become belligerent when they’ve had too much to drink.
"We already know that alcohol increases aggression. And people who have aggressive personality traits also tend not to think about the consequences of their actions," says Brad Bushman, a professor of communication and psychology at Ohio State. "You put the two together, and it's really a toxic mix."
The nearly 500 self-described "social drinkers" who participated in the study filled out a questionnaire to determine if they were impulsive or not. Then, half of the volunteers were given a drink of alcohol and orange juice, while the others were given control drinks with just a touch of alcohol. The participants took part in a speed reaction game in which the winners doled out slight electric shocks to the losers. Over time, the shocks lasted longer and were more intense. The higher the level of impulsiveness a participant rated for himself, the more likely he was to administer longer and more painful shocks.
"The less people thought about the future, the more likely they were to retaliate, but especially when they were drunk,” Bushman says. "Alcohol didn’t have much effect on the aggressiveness of people who were future-focused."
But alcohol does not cause a certain behavior, says psychiatrist Dr. Gail Saltz. Rather, it reveals aspects of our personalities which may be lying dormant inside us.
"We already know that alcohol increases aggression. And people who have aggressive personality traits also tend not to think about the consequences of their actions," says Brad Bushman, a professor of communication and psychology at Ohio State. "You put the two together, and it's really a toxic mix."
The nearly 500 self-described "social drinkers" who participated in the study filled out a questionnaire to determine if they were impulsive or not. Then, half of the volunteers were given a drink of alcohol and orange juice, while the others were given control drinks with just a touch of alcohol. The participants took part in a speed reaction game in which the winners doled out slight electric shocks to the losers. Over time, the shocks lasted longer and were more intense. The higher the level of impulsiveness a participant rated for himself, the more likely he was to administer longer and more painful shocks.
"The less people thought about the future, the more likely they were to retaliate, but especially when they were drunk,” Bushman says. "Alcohol didn’t have much effect on the aggressiveness of people who were future-focused."
But alcohol does not cause a certain behavior, says psychiatrist Dr. Gail Saltz. Rather, it reveals aspects of our personalities which may be lying dormant inside us.
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