Alcohol as social lubricant : Alcohol myopia theory, social self-esteem, and social interaction

This study examines how consuming alcohol differentially affects the communicative behavior & perceptions of high & low social self-esteem (SSE) women as they engage in a brief interaction with a flirtatious male. Alcohol myopia theory proposes that alcohol affects behavior when it blocks a person's normal inhibitions about enacting a behavior. It was predicted that low SSE women would be more inhibited when talking to a flirtatious male than would high SSE women &, therefore, that alcohol would have a stronger effect on the low SSE women's behavior. Following administration of a social self-esteem measure & random assignment to an alcoholic or nonalcoholic beverage condition, participants (N = 50) talked with an attractive, flirtatious male confederate. Low SSE women were less anxious & self-disclosed more when drinking than when sober, whereas high SSE women were not significantly affected by alcohol consumption. The discussion highlights the complex & often contradictory effects of alcohol consumption on social interaction. 1 Table, 3 Figures, 50 References. Adapted from the source document