Communicating About a Relational Problem While (Not) Intoxicated: Influences on Goal Judgments and Message Features

Abstract

This project considered the influence of alcohol on goal pursuit and message production during difficult relational discussions. Forty-four heterosexual dating dyads discussed a hypothetical infidelity. Males were randomly assigned to drinking condition (sober vs. 0.08 g/dl) and females to a conversational resistance condition (resistance vs. no resistance). Participants provided accounts of goals, and conversations were coded for focal center and message embellishment. Drinking influenced the content of primary goals, reduced the importance of multiple goals and reduced judgments of goal difficulty. Under resistance, drinkers had significantly longer, more self-focused and less relationally focused messages than sober participants. We apply the results to an understanding of alcohol-influenced interaction in close relationships.

Keywords:

• Alcohol
• Communication
• Goals
• Relationships

Acknowledgments

The authors extend their sincerest thanks to the UGA Institute for Behavioral Research for funding this project. The authors would also like to thank Catherine Bruce, Janna Easley, Anne Henderson, and Richard Nabring for their assistance with data collection and coding.

Notes

Note. Percentages reflect the frequency percentage within drinking condition (n = 22) per condition.

*Cell frequency is significantly greater across drinking condition, p < .05.

Note. Cell entries are Ms, values in parentheses are SDs.

^a Means across resistance conditions and within drinking condition are significantly different.

^b Means across drinking conditions and within resistance condition are significantly different, **p < .001.

**p < .001. ***p < .0001.

We used a hypothetical scenario since responses to retrospective events cannot be isolated from current self- and relational perceptions; such responses cannot mirror the processes by which individuals initially enact goals and strategically pursue such concerns. Samp and Solomon (2005) used this infidelity scenario to examine goals for and responses to relationally challenging events in dating relationships. While that study did not include an alcohol condition, sober respondents reported that the scenario simultaneously triggers goals of protecting the relationship and protecting one's own self-image.

To give the reader a sense of how much alcohol it takes to achieve a 0.08 g/dl breath alcohol concentration, a 222 lb. male received approximately 8 ounces of vodka whereas a 150 lb. male received slightly less than 6 ounces.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Jennifer A. Samp

Jennifer A. Samp is Associate Professor in the Department of Communication Studies and a Fellow in the Institute of Behavioral Research at the University of Georgia.

Jennifer L. Monahan

Jennifer L. Monahan is a Professor in the Department of Communication Studies and a Fellow in the Institute of Behavioral Research at the University of Georgia.