Acute alcohol effects on facial expressions of emotions in social drinkers: a systematic review

Abstract

Background

As known from everyday experience and experimental research, alcohol modulates emotions. Particularly regarding social interaction, the effects of alcohol on the facial expression of emotion might be of relevance. However, these effects have not been systematically studied. We performed a systematic review on acute alcohol effects on social drinkers’ facial expressions of induced positive and negative emotions.

Materials and methods

With a predefined algorithm, we searched three electronic databases (PubMed, PsycInfo, and Web of Science) for studies conducted on social drinkers that used acute alcohol administration, emotion induction, and standardized methods to record facial expressions. We excluded those studies that failed common quality standards, and finally selected 13 investigations for this review.

Results

Overall, alcohol exerted effects on facial expressions of emotions in social drinkers. These effects were not generally disinhibiting, but varied depending on the valence of emotion and on social interaction. Being consumed within social groups, alcohol mostly influenced facial expressions of emotions in a socially desirable way, thus underscoring the view of alcohol as social lubricant. However, methodical differences regarding alcohol administration between the studies complicated comparability.

Conclusion

Our review highlighted the relevance of emotional valence and social-context factors for acute alcohol effects on social drinkers’ facial expressions of emotions. Future research should investigate how these alcohol effects influence the development of problematic drinking behavior in social drinkers.

Keywords:

• alcohol
• alcohol effects
• emotion
• encoding
• social drinking context
• facial action

Acknowledgments

We thank the Ständige Kommission für Forschung und wissenschaftlichen Nachwuchs (FNK) and the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) for funding the related research projects “020624 Die akute Wirkung von Alkohol auf die Schmerzverarbeitung [Acute alcohol effects on pain processing]” and “GZ: HO 5573/1-1 Trinken gegen Schmerz? Physiologische und psychologische Wirkmechanismen von Alkohol auf die Schmerzwahrnehmung [Drinking against pain? Physiological and psychological effect mechanisms of alcohol on pain perception]”, which inspired the authors to perform this review.

Disclosure

The authors report no conflicts of interest in this work.