Don't drink alcohol ... in fact, don't even look at it
 Turns out just hanging out near alcohol—or even looking at pictures of it—without pounding beers makes people hostile, according to a new survey of 246 undergrads conducted by the University of Missouri-Columbia. In one experiment, a group of subjects studied six alcohol-related ads, and another group studied six neutral ads. After rating the ads, the students read a paragraph about a person engaging in a series of "ambiguously hostile" activities, like refusing to pay rent until his apartment was repainted. (Sounds fair to me.) The group then evaluated the person on six positive traits (like dependability) and six negative traits (such as hostility). Participants who were exposed to the alcohol-related executions rated the person as more hostile than those who had viewed the neutral ads. "These findings suggest that the mere sight of alcohol brings aggression-related thoughts to mind, which can have a specific influence on perceptions of hostility," said Bruce Bartholow, assistant professor of psychology at the university, in a statement. "Researchers and the general public have long known of a link between drinking alcohol and increased aggression. These studies indicate that this link does not depend on alcohol being consumed or even on the belief that alcohol has been consumed." Frightening.
—Posted by Lisa van der Pool
Photo: Getty Images
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November 3, 2005 | Permalink
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Comments
Have they missed the obvious link here?
These are college students and they're looking at pictures of alcohol - but not being allowed to drink it.
That might make me ticked off, too!
Seriously, though, this research is a little flawed (again). The fact that they rated other people as more aggressive doesn't mean that they, themselves, were more aggressive.
An equally valid conclusion (with equally little proof) is that just seeing alcohol makes one more timid, frightened, or paranoid, since it is the perception of others that has changed.
Another victory for jumping to conclusions!
DanO
Posted by: DanO | Nov 3, 2005 12:36:01 PM
Frankly, I'm not surprised. These are the same Missouri Tiger students that throw food at the University of Kansas marching band and sexually harass opponents' basketball teams via telephone prior to big games.
They're a bunch of punks. They should try this again at a school with class. :)
Posted by: Jeff Croft | Nov 3, 2005 2:58:54 PM
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