Alcohol and Aggression Without Consumption: Alcohol Cues, Aggressive Thoughts, and Hostile Perception Bias
Abstract
Researchers and the lay public have long known of a link between alcohol and aggression. However, whether this link results from alcohol's pharmacological effects or is merely an artifact of the belief that alcohol has been consumed (i.e., placebo effect) has been debated. The current experiments examined the propensity for alcohol-related cues to elicit aggressive thoughts and hostile perceptions in the absence of alcohol or placebo consumption. In Experiment 1, participants made faster lexical decisions concerning aggression-related words following alcohol-related primes compared with neutral primes. In Experiment 2, participants who first were exposed to alcohol advertisements subsequently rated the behavior of a target person as more hostile than participants who initially viewed control advertisements. Furthermore, this effect was largest among participants who most strongly associated alcohol and aggression. Findings are discussed in terms of semantic network theory and links in memory between alcohol and its anticipated effects.
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Chronic heavy alcohol use may dysregulate brain function in regions responsible for threat processing and impulse control, including the orbitofrontal area, anterior cingulate cortex, and subcortical and frontomesal regions.
“Chronic heavy alcohol use may dysregulate brain function in these regions alongside other regions that are responsible for both threat processing and impulse control, such as the orbitofrontal area, anterior cingulate cortex, as well as subcortical and frontomesal regions (Ochsner And Gross 2005; Bartholow and Heinz 2006; Sinha And Li 2007; Verdejo-García and Bechara 2009).”
From Decoding the bidirectional links between alcohol misuse and aggression: toward a unified translational framework (2026) · cites this paper as Bartholow and Heinz 2006
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References 40 · Cited by 108
- Authors
- Bartholow, B. D., & Heinz, A.
- Affiliations
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (US)
- Corresponding author
- Bartholow, Bruce D.
- Venue
- Psychological Science
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2006-01
- Volume
- 17
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 30-37
- ISSN
- 0956-7976 (ISSN-L)
- 1467-9280
- OpenAlex
- W2125318168
- Cited by
- 108
- References
- 40
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 5 · 2023: 2 · 2022: 9 · 2020: 5 · 2019: 4 · 2018: 9 · 2017: 11 · 2016: 8 · 2015: 5 · 2014: 8 · 2013: 8 · 2012: 8
- FWCI
- 1.66
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Psychological Science (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Epidemiology › Substance Abuse Treatment and Outcomes
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Social and Intergroup Psychology
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Bullying, Victimization, and Aggression
- Keywords
- alcohol and aggression, placebo effect, alcohol cues, aggressive thoughts, lexical decision, priming
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Adult, Aggression, Alcohol Drinking, Cues, Decision Making, Female, Hostility, Humans, Male, Reaction Time, Semantics, Set, Psychology, Social Perception, Thinking, Placebo Effect
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