Research Note Effects of Alcohol on Self-Appraisal

Abstract

The present study explored the effects of alcohol on the content of a self-disclosing speech. Subjects were male social drinkers who received either a 0.85 g/kg dose of alcohol or a placebo. Subjects presented a 3-minute speech about what they liked and disliked about their physical appearance. Audiotapes of these speeches were rated by two raters for number and duration of positive and negative items disclosed during the speech. Intoxicated subjects disclosed fewer negative items than sober subjects. In addition, intoxicated subjects were more likely to present negative attributes in a manner that was isolated from their self-concept than sober subjects. Alcohol did not affect disclosures of positive items. These results suggest that one negatively reinforcing effect of intoxication may be the strengthening of self-protective biases.

Key Words:

• Alcohol administration
• Stress
• Self-appraisal
• Self-disclosure