Drunk: How We Sipped, Danced, and Stumbled Our Way to Civilization

by Edward Slingerland

The results were clear. “Alcohol consumption,” the authors concluded, “enhanced individual and group-level behaviors associated with positive affect, reduced individual-level behaviors associated with negative affect, and elevated self-reported bonding.” A later analysis of the social dynamics reflected in the videos found that intoxication enhanced the “contagion” of smiling and positive affect: genuine smiles that popped up in drinking groups were more likely to spread to everyone, rather than simply being ignored. This contagion effect was particularly dramatic in male-dominated groups, where smiles in the placebo and control conditions tended to go unreciprocated.49 Crucially, these positive effects on group bonding were driven by the pharmacological effects of the alcohol: The placebo group resembled the control group, and both differed significantly from the alcohol group on all measures. One recent summary of research on the effect of alcohol on social cohesion and intimacy concludes that it “can increase self-disclosure, can decrease social anxiety, and consistently increases extraversion, including a gregariousness facet subscale. In addition, research has found that alcohol can increase happiness and sociability, helping behaviors, generosity, and social bonding, and decrease negative emotional responses to social stressors.”50