Controlling anger in self-reported sober and alcohol intoxicated states: moderating effects of trait anger and alcohol consumption

Controlling anger in self-reported sober and alcohol intoxicated states: Moderating effects of trait anger and alcohol consumption. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology 52, 382-388. Retrospective self-reports about prior sober and alcohol intoxicated states were explored to reveal moderating effects of trait anger and alcohol consumption on anger control. The analyses were based on self-reports of trait anger and alcohol consumption as well as self-reports of the participants' typical levels of anger control in sober and alcohol intoxicated states in a population based sample of Finnish twins and their siblings (N = 4,852). The reported levels of anger control were lower regarding prior alcohol intoxicated states than sober states. A three-way interaction between alcohol consumption, trait anger and anger control was found. Whereas no interaction between alcohol consumption and trait anger was found in the self-reported sober state, there was an interactive effect of trait anger and alcohol consumption on anger control in the intoxicated state, indicating that the difference in anger control between those with high levels of alcohol consumption and those with low levels, was greater at higher levels of trait anger. Women had lower levels of anger control than men, but the relationship between trait anger, alcohol consumption and anger control was similar for both genders. In conclusion, the results showed that those with high levels of trait anger and alcohol consumption showed the lowest levels of anger control in self-reported alcohol intoxicated states, and indicate the importance of separating between anger control when sober and intoxicated since anger control seems to be differently related to at least trait anger and alcohol consumption in these states.     

Instructed versus pharmacological effects of alcohol in alcoholics and social drinkers

Twelve alcoholics and 12 social drinkers were studied in an experiment where instructions about alcohol or placebo were orthogonally crossed with administration of alcohol or placebo in a Balanced Placebo Design. Three subjects were simultaneously observed while watching soccer games on the TV together and having free access to a mixed drink, which in the alcohol conditions contained 150ml of 80% proof vodka. The assessment procedure included several aspects of drinking behavior, behavioral observations during the session, psychiatric ratings and nurse observations before and after each session, ratings for craving, self-reported state anxiety and physiological changes (heart rate and blood pressure). In general, the results showed the alcoholic's behavior to be controlled by instruction-induced expectancies rather than by the actual beverage given, whereas the social drinkers showed tendencies in the opposite direction. The implications of these results for the traditional disease conception of alcoholism and for learning theory approaches are discussed.     

Effects of alcohol on the storage and retrieval processes of heavy social drinkers

Two experiments investigated the effects of intoxication, expectation of intoxication, and state dependency on learning and relearning in male heavy social drinkers. In both studies, subjects participated in two daily sessions. On Day 1, intoxicated and sober subjects were presented with word lists for immediate free recall, followed by total free recall of all words. On Day 2, with or without a change in drug state, subjects were given a second total recall test, the same lists for immediate recall, and a third total recall test. In Experiment 1, 10 subjects served in each of four groups formed by crossing expectation with reception of alcohol on Day 1; all subjects were sober on Day 2. In Experiment 2, 12 subjects served in each of four groups formed by crossing drug state on Day 1 with drug state on Day 2 (sober-sober, sober-intoxicated, intoxicated-intoxicated, intoxicated-sober), and all expected alcohol. In both studies, intoxication produced a performance deficit, but retention loss on Day 2 was the same for change- and constant-state subjects. Expectation had no effect on performance. Results are discussed in terms of an alcohol-induced storage deficiency rather than a retrieval deficit.     

Increased sensitivity to the disinhibiting effects of alcohol in binge drinkers.

Heavy episodic alcohol use, or binge drinking, is a serious public health problem. Binge drinking is endemic in college students and has resulted in numerous alcohol-related tragedies, including acute alcohol poisonings, falls, and automobile collisions. Such negative outcomes might occur because binge drinkers are generally more impulsive, and this impulsivity might be exacerbated under alcohol. The purpose of this study was to examine this hypothesis by comparing the acute effects of alcohol on a cognitive measure of behavioral control in binge and nonbinge drinkers. The results indicated that binge drinkers act more impulsively and report feeling more stimulated under an acute 0.65 g/kg dose of alcohol compared to nonbinge drinkers. The present finding of a heightened disinhibitory reaction to alcohol in binge drinkers may help explain the link between impulsivity and problem drinking at a more fundamental level of behavioral control.     

The relationship of anger and social skills to psychological symptoms

The link between anger, social skills, and psychological symptoms was investigated in a college population. Seven hundred and nine individuals were administered the State Trait Anger Expression Inventory, the Anger Inventory, the Social Problem Solving Inventory, the Social Skills Inventory, and a series of questions about the degree to which anger affected their lives. Symptomatology was measured by the Brief Symptom Inventory and served as the criterion measure for a series of multiple regression analyses. Results indicated that both anger and social factors related to measures of psychological distress. Implications of the relationship between anger, social skills, and psychological symptoms are discussed in terms of research and assessment of individuals who may suffer from anger problems.     

Impulsivity as a predictor of smoking and alcohol consumption

This prospective study examined the relationships between impulsivity, smoking and alcohol use in a large non-clinical sample of 601 men and 4832 women working in 12 Finnish hospitals. Data on impulsivity, smoking and alcohol consumption were collected by two questionnaires with a two-year interval. At baseline, impulsivity was associated with smoking and alcohol use. After controlling for baseline smoking, impulsivity predicted increased number of cigarettes smoked per day in women (p=0.08), but not in men. After controlling for alcohol use at baseline, impulsivity predicted increased alcohol consumption similarly in both genders (p<0.01). Higher impulsivity was also associated with increased likelihood of taking up smoking or becoming a heavy drinker (p<0.05). This evidence suggests that impulsivity contributes to increasing health risk behaviours.     

Personal and social correlates of alcohol consumption among mid‐adolescents

A prospective, cohort survey of 540 mid‐adolescent students was conducted to identify personal, family and social correlates of alcohol use. A structured questionnaire recorded alcohol involvement, other substance use, perceived parental alcohol use and related factors, alcohol‐related attitudes and beliefs, psychological well‐being, social and peer behaviours, and school conduct problems. Participants drank on 17.5 days in the past 3 months; on a typical drinking day they consumed 4.7 units, with 28.5% reported drinking six or more units. More frequent drinking was independently correlated with being male, perceiving that parents encouraged drinking, drinking without parental knowledge, drinking to alter mood, buying alcoholic beverages, spending more time with friends who drink, perceiving social pressure to drink, and being excluded from school and truanting. Parental discouragement for alcohol was related to more frequent drinking in females and less frequent drinking in males. Drinking more intensively was associated with use of cannabis, parental encouragement to drink, spending more time with friends who drink, school exclusion, and being in trouble with teachers. These results highlight multidimensional correlates of drinking during mid‐adolescence and underline the importance of addressing personal, family, peer, and school conduct factors in school‐based alcohol education programmes.     

Verbalized anger and accusatory "you" messages as cues for anger and antagonism among adolescents.

This study investigated the impact of communications of negative feelings between adolescents in close relationships. High school boys and girls were asked to imagine discussing a relationship problem with a personally close partner and to rate likely reactions to four kinds of statements: assertively expressed distress, assertively expressed anger, aggressively expressed distress, and aggressively expressed anger. Accusatory "you" statements were rated as more aversive and evoked stronger antagonistic response inclinations than assertive "I" statements. Statements depicting anger were rated as more aversive and evoked stronger antagonistic response inclinations than statements depicting distress. Results were similar for boys and girls. Implications of the findings and directions for further research are discussed.     

Contextual determinants of anger and other negative expressions in young infants

Two experiments examined how different frustration contexts affect the instrumental and emotional responses of 4- to 5-month-old infants. Three different frustrating contexts were investigated: loss of stimulation (extinction), reduction in contingent stimulation (partial reinforcement), and loss of stimulus control (noncontingency). In both experiments, changes in arm activity and facial expressions of anger and sadness coded according to the Maximally Discriminative Facial Movement Coding System (MAX) were the measures of frustration. Both experiments showed that (a) arm responses increased when the contingent stimulus was lost or reduced but decreased when control of the stimulus was lost under noncontingency, (b) MAX-coded anger, but not MAX-coded sad or blends of anger and sad, was associated with frustration, and (c) the pattern of anger and arm responses varied with the frustration context. When contingent stimulation was lost or reduced, both anger and arm responses increased, but when expected control was lost under noncontingency, arm responses decreased while anger increased.     

Persuasive argumentation and social comparison as determinants of attitude polarization

Several of our studies indicate that persuasive-arguments theory by itself is an adequate explanation of polarization. Sanders and Baron (Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 1977, 13, 303–314) criticize this research. More generally, they contend that both argumentation and comparison are involved, “with persuasive arguments facilitating the shifts motivated by social comparison.” We feel that their critique is unconvincing. Relevant portions of the standard literature are reviewed to demonstrate that social comparison is neither a necessary nor sufficient condition for polarization. Finally, we speculate about how persuasive-arguments theory could be extended to argument-poor settings (e.g., Asch's line comparison situation).     

Instigation to aggression as a function of degree of defeat and the capacity for massive retaliation

Forty-eight subjects, half of whom were assigned to a condition of massive retaliation (MR) and half of whom were not (NMR), competed against a presumed opponent The loser on each trial received a shock of intensity level selected by the winner at the beginning of a trial and, simultaneously, feedback on the opponent's shock setting The winner received only feedback on the opponent's shock setting Defeat and feedback of aggressive intent (opponent's shock setting) were varied independently In the MR condition, an extreme level of shock could be selected Although its use was avoided, its psychological presence influenced perception of the opponent, aggressive behavior, and physiological arousal Consistent with previous findings, primary frustration was found to be a relatively inconsequential instigator to aggression compared to learned social attitudes     

Effects of social stress on operant drinking of alcoholics and social drinkers

The relationship between social stress and alcohol consumption was examined in 10 alcoholics and 10 social drinkers matched on age and education. Drinking was measured via 10 minutes of operant responding whereby lever presses earned alcohol reinforcement on an FR-50 schedule. During stress conditions, subjects were exposed to simulated interpersonal encounters requiring assertive behavior. In terms of autonomie arousal, both groups were equally stressed. The no-stress condition consisted of non-threatening discussions of pleasurable spare time activities. Alcoholics significantly increased their operant responding to obtain alcohol following stress conditions while social drinkers did not.