Complete reference information:
Sayette MA; Creswell KG; Dimoff JD; Fairbairn CE; Cohn JF; Heckman BW; Kirchner TR; Levine JM;
Moreland RL. “Alcohol and group formation: a multimodal investigation of the effects of alcohol
on emotion and social bonding.” Psychological science [Psychol Sci], 2012 Aug 01; Vol. 23 (8), pp.
869-78. Date of Electronic Publication: 2012 Jul 03.
Humans are social creatures that strongly strive for belonging and bonding with others
(Sayette et al, 2012). Some researchers have shown that alcohol can enhance empathy and
social closeness with others, which is reflected in the wide usage of alcohol in social gatherings,
rituals, and celebrations across diverse cultures (Sayette et al, 2012). Although there are
multiple studies demonstrating the impact of alcohol in an individual, isolated setting, not many
studies have been conducted to observe the impact in a group setting (Sayette et al, 2012).
Hence, the present research investigates the impact of alcohol in a social interactive setting,
where the individuals’ facial expressions will be observed and analyzed (Sayette et al, 2012).
The authors hypothesize that the consumption of alcohol will enhance the self-reported social
bonding among individuals with more positive interactions observed throughout the
experiment (Sayette et al, 2012).
A total of 720 participants ranging from the age of 21 to 28 were gathered for this
investigation (360 males, and 360 females) (Sayette et al, 2012). After having a brief phone
screening, a medical assessment regarding alcohol consumption or any health issues has been
conducted to confirm that all participants are healthy, social drinkers, matching for the
assessment (Sayette et al, 2012). They had to be affirmed that they could take at least three
drinks within 30 minutes (Sayette et al, 2012). After giving informed consent, participants were
randomly assigned to groups of 3, where each group was given to drink either an alcoholic
beverage, a placebo beverage, or a control, non-alcoholic beverage (Sayette et al, 2012). 100-
proof vodka and cranberry-juice cocktail were used for the alcoholic beverage, which contains a
0.82-g/kg dose for males and a 0.74-g/kg dose for females (Sayette et al, 2012). Participants
drinking this moderate dose of alcohol, whereas the participants drinking the placebo
beverage, the vodka bottle contained flattened tonic water (Sayette et al, 2012). Participants
were seated around the circular table as a group and were given to drink 1/3rd of the drink
every 12 minutes (Sayette et al, 2012). They were free to interact but were asked to not discuss
their level of intoxication. Each drinking sessions were video recorded at 30 frames per second
(Sayette et al, 2012). Once the drinking sessions ended, participants filled out Perceived Group
Reinforcement Scale (PGSR) to assess the self-reported bonding within the group (Sayette et al,
2012). The authors also analyzed the facial expression and length of speech that the
participants have shown throughout the research (Sayette et al, 2012).
The results demonstrate that the participants who are who consumed alcohol smiled for
longer periods and expressed less amount of negative affect than the individual who didn’t
consume any alcoholic beverage (Sayette et al, 2012). Regarding observable speech,
participants who drank alcoholic beverages spent significantly greater time talking than those
who did not (Sayette et al, 2012). The self-reported bonding assessment demonstrates that the
participants who drank scored higher PGRS than those who took placebo beverages, yet was
not significantly different from the participants who drank the non-alcoholic beverage (Sayette
et al, 2012). Thence, the author concludes that during group formations, individuals who
consume alcohol experience more social bonding than those who didn’t (Sayette et al, 2012).
I found this research quite fascinating as the topic of research broadened my point of
view on the consumption of alcohol, where a substance that can harm individuals’ physical and
mental health can be quite useful for social interactions and bonding. I believe this investigation
reflects that moderate, controlled consumption of alcohol under the right context can result in
rewarding social effects on individuals (Sayette et al, 2012).