December 20, 2011
The existence of one particular personality trait determines the likelihood of someone being an aggressive drunk, according to new research from Ohio State University.
That trait is the ability to consider the future consequences of current actions.
"People who focus on the here and now, without thinking about the impact on the future, are more aggressive than others when they are sober, but the effect is magnified greatly when they're drunk," said Brad Bushman, lead author of the study and professor of communication and psychology at Ohio State University.
"Alcohol has a myopic effect — it narrows your attention to what is important to you right now. That may be dangerous to someone who already has that tendency to ignore the future consequences of their actions and who is placed in a hostile situation."
The university's study involved 495 social drinkers, with an average age of 23.
All participants initially completed the "Consideration of Future Consequences scale." They indicated how much they agreed with statements like "I only act to satisfy immediate concerns, figuring the future will take care of itself." Scores on this measure determined how much participants were present-focused or future-focused.
Participants then underwent electric shock-based aggression tests when sober and also when under the influence of a controlled amount of alcohol.
Each of the participants was told that he or she was competing with a same-sex opponent in a computer-based speed reaction test, with the winner delivering a harmless but somewhat painful electrical shock to the loser. The winner determined the intensity and the length of the shock delivered to the loser.
In reality, there was no opponent. There were 34 trials, and the participant "won" half of them (randomly determined). Each time they "lost," the participants received electric shocks that increased in length and intensity over the course of the trials, and the researchers measured if and how severely they retaliated.
"The less people thought about the future, the more likely they were to retaliate, but especially when they were drunk. People who were present-focused and drunk shocked their opponents longer and harder than anyone else in the study," he said.
Bushman claims the results should serve as a warning to people who live only in the moment without thinking too much about the future.
"If you're that kind of person, you really should watch your drinking. Combining alcohol with a focus on the present can be a recipe for disaster."
Your say: Do you get a bit fighty after a few?
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