Althouse: "In one study, over 700 male and female social drinkers were divided into groups of three strangers and instructed to drink for 36 minutes."

December 29, 2022

"In one study, over 700 male and female social drinkers were divided into groups of three strangers and instructed to drink for 36 minutes."

"The participants thought the drinks were a prelude to the experiment, but researchers were observing what they did at the table. Initially, the strangers did not smile much. But as they consumed their vodka cranberry drinks, their expressions changed. They not only smiled more, but also caught each other’s smiles, and spoke more in succession. And they shared more of what researchers called 'golden moments' when all three strangers smiled as one...."

From "Why do people like being tipsy? Here’s how alcohol affects the brain. The buzz produced by alcohol comes from a cocktail of pharmacology and social ingredients, research shows" (WaPo).

37 comments:

Anthony said...: What a great study, I never knew anything like that happened. . . . .; 12/29/22, 9:47 AM
Temujin said...: This study could have also been called, 'Why people have enjoyed an adult beverage since we were drawing on the walls of caves.'

Seems to be a common thread today.

These 'golden moments' are why there are bars, taverns, etc. Why wine and mead(e!) have been drunk for eons and why alcohol is not only a widely approved drug, but one that has been raised to stylish luxury levels in most sectors of Western society. The 'golden moment' sort of look is known to every bartender (with the possible exception of AOC) around the world. They can also tell the moment you move from those 'golden moments' into the sloppy upper levels where things get louder and can quickly go off the rails.; 12/29/22, 9:52 AM
Bob Boyd said...: No shit?; 12/29/22, 9:56 AM
cassandra lite said...: Why do they like it? Same reason writers do: it's a two by four on the forehead of fear.; 12/29/22, 9:59 AM
Ice Nine said...: >Initially, the strangers did not smile much. But as they consumed their vodka cranberry drinks, their expressions changed. They not only smiled more, but also caught each other’s smiles, and spoke more in succession.<

This is like the study that showed that a healthy diet will help you live longer. Or the study that told us that women prefer dating thin, hot, rich men to fat, ugly, poor ones.; 12/29/22, 10:02 AM
gilbar said...: in Other Important Breaking News..
Dog Bites Man!
Rain is WET!!
Tobacco Suppresses Hunger!; 12/29/22, 10:16 AM
gilbar said...: Actually, They Could (but, WON'T) do a similar experiment with pot.
Of course, the pot sellers probably wouldn't like the results......

Oh Wait! I know!! They should do a similar experiment with cocaine! I'll Volunteer!; 12/29/22, 10:19 AM
tommyesq said...: I read that and wonder, "why 36 minutes? Why not 30, or 40?"; 12/29/22, 10:27 AM
Barry Dauphin said...: It would be great to get a research grant where you can buy alcohol. Better to get some extra so you can do more pilot studies for the replication.; 12/29/22, 10:30 AM
Lance said...: Now try the same experiment without the alcohol.; 12/29/22, 10:36 AM
Not Sure said...: Hemingway: "I drink to make other people more interesting."

Don't we all?; 12/29/22, 10:42 AM
Wilbur said...: I assume our tax dollars paid for this groundbreaking research.; 12/29/22, 10:44 AM
Kate said...: Meat is bad, heating your house is bad, driving is bad -- blah blah blah. Alcohol gets a pass? Cool, I'm glad. Can smoking be far behind...; 12/29/22, 11:05 AM
Robert Cook said...: These results suggest to me that few of the commenters here ever drink (or never have).

(Of course, I've never really been a drinker, and five or six beers a year is about my limit. Yet, I'm always in good cheer! What's wrong with the rest of you?); 12/29/22, 11:08 AM
rcocean said...: Does the "study" show how much they were drinking in 35 minutes? 1.5 ounces, 3 ounces of vodka? It makes a difference.

Anyway, I wouldn't be smiling, because I hate hard liquor except for Good Scotch on the rocks. And the occassional well made Gin rickey on a hot day. Everything else sucks.; 12/29/22, 11:11 AM
Joe Smith said...: People like to drink.

News at 11...; 12/29/22, 11:14 AM
MB said...: Did they have a control group with mocktails? Otherwise, how do you know that it wasn't just the consumption of something together that makes people smile at each other? (I didn't read the article. This may have been answered there.); 12/29/22, 11:19 AM
Wince said...: "Why do none of your experiments involve masturbation?"; 12/29/22, 11:22 AM
JK Brown said...: It's a fine knife edge. If only someone would develop an app or such that could keep you on the edge instead of as most do, consuming alcohol faster than needed "to keep the edge". Unfortunately, cocktail situation are organized to push over consumption by social pressure.; 12/29/22, 11:26 AM
ColoComment said...: For comparison, were there control groups of strangers seated at a table, with only water or juice to drink? Or nothing to drink? Or a few hors d'oeuvres to nibble on? Or....?

It seems to me that any collection of strangers grouped together in a more or less controlled environment would more likely than not follow some similar familiarizing process.

I'm thinking, for example, of being at some industry conference, during a breakout session discovering common ground in conversations with complete strangers, and experiencing signs of increasing familiarity (smiles, nodding of heads, etc.)

Shoot, I've sat on a ski area chair lift for less than x minutes with three strangers and found the same thing happening.; 12/29/22, 11:28 AM
Yancey Ward said...: Hmmm.....now how can I construct a business to take advantage of this new information about alcohol?; 12/29/22, 11:38 AM
ConradBibby said...: How many ended up having sex?; 12/29/22, 11:45 AM
Original Mike said...: The money spent on this "study" could have been spent on real science benefiting humanity.; 12/29/22, 11:45 AM
Jake said...: Just started reading this: Drunk: How We Sipped, Danced, and Stumbled Our Way to Civilization, Edward Slingerland.

"Drunk elegantly cuts through the tangle of urban legends and anecdotal impressions that surround our notions of intoxication to provide the first rigorous, scientifically-grounded explanation for our love of alcohol. Drawing on evidence from archaeology, history, cognitive neuroscience, psychopharmacology, social psychology, literature, and genetics, Drunk shows that our taste for chemical intoxicants is not an evolutionary mistake, as we are so often told. In fact, intoxication helps solve a number of distinctively human challenges: enhancing creativity, alleviating stress, building trust, and pulling off the miracle of getting fiercely tribal primates to cooperate with strangers. Our desire to get drunk, along with the individual and social benefits provided by drunkenness, played a crucial role in sparking the rise of the first large-scale societies. We would not have civilization without intoxication."

Seems on point with the subject of this post.; 12/29/22, 11:55 AM
ALP said...: Twice today I see the phrase "cave painting" (thanks Temujin!). That calls for a link to a blog post featuring "9 Places to See Prehistoric Cave Paintings." I love the simple color palette of such images.

https://travel.allwomenstalk.com/places-to-see-prehistoric-cave-paintings/

FYI found via web search - never heard of this blog before.; 12/29/22, 11:56 AM
planetgeo said...: This "experiment" should be a pre-requisite for anyone posting on the night cafe thread. On second thought, it's probably why the night cafe thread is always the most interesting and congenial one.; 12/29/22, 12:19 PM
gilbar said...: planetgeo said...
it's probably why the night cafe thread is always the most interesting and congenial one.

compare/contrast with This tidbit: Robert Cook said...
(Of course, I've never really been a drinker, and five or six beers a year is about my limit.

Think About our Mister Marxist... NOW, think about the fact, that he BRAGS about not drinking; 12/29/22, 1:41 PM
James K said...: The control group should have had drinks that seemed to be alcoholic but weren't. I'd bet there would have been little difference in behavior, especially in 36 minutes. And as others have suggested, whoever provided funding for this study should be sold shares in the Brooklyn Bridge.; 12/29/22, 2:26 PM
Estoy_Listo said...: Tommyesq's insightful question: 'I read that and wonder, "why 36 minutes? Why not 30, or 40?"'

For the same reason economists use decimal places: It's Science!; 12/29/22, 3:52 PM
Tofu King said...: Ha ha. I hope no taxpayer money was used.; 12/29/22, 3:53 PM
gspencer said...: When I was a youngster, in the 1955-1965 era, I observed at my parents' parties all the necessary research put forth by this ridiculous study. Men wearing lampshades on their heads was all the evidence I needed to know that alcohol brings out otherwise hidden personal behavior.

Maybe their next study will answer the burning question, Do men like looking at naked women?; 12/29/22, 4:04 PM
Rusty said...: Which is why, Robert, you are not an interesting person.
(sigh) I miss cocktails.; 12/29/22, 5:33 PM
Christopher B said...: Archeologists and others have started thinking that, while the discovery of fermentation might have been a happy accident initially, brewing beer might have been an integral part of the development of agriculture for pretty much the reasons indicated by this experiment.; 12/29/22, 5:37 PM
iowan2 said...: Very informative study. I have arrived at the best explanation of what is happening.

I'm going to copy write this. Its like Alcohol is a "social lubricant". I'm Brilliant, yes?

Seriously. I find myself sitting down for meals with strangers all the time. If most of the table don't know each other, conversation comes easy. If I'm the loner, those that know each other don't go out of their way to include me, but I still have fun. A stranger is just my next new friend.; 12/29/22, 7:53 PM
gadfly said...: Really! Hundreds of thousands of years after man first experienced the effect of alcohol, money continues to be wasted on observing the effect of drinking ethanol.

During the early stages of drinking, your brain releases more dopamine, known as the feel-good neurotransmitter. During this euphoric stage, drinkers may feel relaxed and confident, but reasoning and memory become slightly impaired. Intoxication follows as the brain functions go off track.; 12/30/22, 12:00 AM
Rusty said...: Christopher B said...
Beer is just watery bread that's been left in the sun too long. A delightful fuck up.
gadfly does not get invited to many parties.; 12/30/22, 9:52 AM
Douglas B. Levene said...: I think George Thorogood said it best:
"I drink alone, yeah
With nobody else
Yeah, you know when I drink alone
I prefer to be by myself"; 12/31/22, 12:17 AM