Citation

Winograd RP, Steinley D, Lane SP, Sher KJ. Clinical Psychological Science 2017; 5(3): 439-456.

Affiliation

University of Missouri 200 South 7 Street Columbia, MO, 65211.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2017, Association for Psychological Science, Publisher SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.1177/2167702616689780

PMID

28785511

PMCID

PMC5544024

Abstract

Across various cultures there are robust stereotypes regarding how alcohol intoxication alters individuals' normative personalities. However, whether these stereotypes are rooted in genuine average effects or in salient, socially-proliferated exemplars remain unclear. The current study tested if differences between sober and intoxicated personality expression can be observed reliably by trained raters during a drinking episode. Participants (N = 156), half of whom received alcohol, attended laboratory sessions in same-gender friend groups and engaged in activities designed to elicit a range of personality expression. Participants completed self-reports of their "typical" sober and drunk personalities two weeks prior to their sessions and via two short measures during the session. Additionally, participants were recorded and rated by multiple (Range = 5-17) trained raters using three personality measures. Self-perceptions of sober-to-drunk personality differences were more pervasive than observer-perceptions, but alcohol-induced changes in Extraversion, specifically, were robust across measures and reporters.

Language: en

Keywords

Alcohol; Drunk personality; Five-factor Model; Intergroup dynamics; Personality