Perceiving college peers’ alcohol consumption: temporal patterns and individual differences in overestimation

Abstract

Objective: This study examines temporal patterns and individual differences of overestimation in alcohol norm perception within a social network.

Design: Hundred psychology freshmen indicated biweekly during their first semester the drinks they consumed, the perceived average of their peers’ consumption, and with whom they were acquainted. At baseline, trait self-control was assessed.

Main outcome: The moderation of alcohol consumption overestimation by time and individual characteristics was explored.

Results: Results show that students overestimated alcohol consumption of their acquainted peers by 1.22 drinks (p < .001). For time periods at which peers reported high consumption, overestimation decreased. Additionally, individuals reporting high alcohol consumption (b = −0.25, p < .001) and low self-control (b = 0.27, p = .010) showed higher overestimation.

Conclusions: Students overestimate the alcohol consumption of peers not fully accounting for changes in peer-reports. Furthermore, individual differences suggest informational and motivational processes underlying overestimation.

Keywords:

• Social network
• perception bias
• false-consensus
• misperception
• social norm
• alcohol

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).