Loosening the Grip: A Handbook of Alcohol Information

by Jean Kinney

Another theory that surfaced was based on the need for a feeling of power over oneself or one’s environment. Most people don’t talk about this, but take a look at the heavy reliance of the liquor industry on macho models, executive types, and beautiful women surrounded by adoring males. People in ads celebrate winning anything with a drink of some sort. The power theory was explored by researchers in the early 1970s, under the direction of David McClelland. They examined folktales from both heavy- and light-drinking societies. Their research indicated that concern with relief from tension or anxiety was no greater in heavy-drinking societies than in those that consumed less. To look at this further they conducted a study with college men over a period of 10 years. Without revealing the reasons for the study, they asked the students to write down their fantasies before, during, and after drinking. The stories revealed that the more the students drank, the more they felt bigger, stronger, more influential, more aggressive, and more capable of great sexual conquest. The conclusion was that people drink to experience a feeling of power— exhibited in two different patterns. What was called p-power is a personal powerfulness, uninhibited and carried out at the expense of others. Social power, or s-power, is a more altruistic powerfulness, power to help others. This s-power was found to predominate after two or three drinks; heavier drinking ...

Control theory, we want to control death