According to a study, alcohol consumption reduces sensitivity to pain. This can decrease empathy towards others and make you aggressive.
- Alcohol consumption increases pain tolerance.
- This reduces the capacity for empathy and increases the risk of being violent towards others.
- The greater the amount of alcohol consumed, the greater these effects could be.
Aggression, violence, impulsivity: alcohol can change the behavior of those who consume it. Researchers at Ohio University found out why. They explain it in a study published in the specialized journal Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs. “Alcohol’s ability to increase people’s pain threshold is one reason why alcohol consumption also leads to more aggressive behavior.”they indicate.
Electric shocks to test the effects of alcohol on aggression
To reach this conclusion, they carried out two experiments, one with 543 participants and the other with 327 participants. All had an estimated consumption of 3 to 4 alcoholic drinks per occasion, at least once a month. “They were recruited through newspaper advertisements and paid $75, specify the authors. The methods of the two experiments were identical.”
During these, participants had to drink a drink over twenty minutes, without knowing whether it was an alcoholic beverage or a placebo. “For the placebo drinks, researchers put a small amount of alcohol on top of the orange juice and sprayed the rim of the glass with alcohol so it tasted like an alcoholic drink.indicate the authors. Next, the scientists delivered electric shocks lasting one second to two fingers of one hand. The intensity of the shocks gradually increased, until participants reported that it was painful. This allowed scientists to establish a pain threshold.
Alcohol increases pain tolerance for self and others
In a second part of the study, the participants carried out an online activity: it was a reactivity game where the winner could administer a shock to the loser, choosing the intensity and duration. “In reality, there was no opponent and the researchers randomly declared the participant ‘winner’ in half of the cases.underline the authors. The results show that for those who drank alcohol, the pain threshold was higher. The greater their tolerance for physical pain, the higher their level of aggression, in terms of the intensity and duration of the shocks they were willing to administer to the opponent. “Those who drank the placebo drinks were not as aggressive in their response, in part because their pain threshold was generally lower than those who drank alcoholcomments Brad Bushman, professor at Ohio University. In other words, they were still capable of feeling their own pain and did not want to inflict pain on others.”
The higher the alcohol consumption, the greater the pain tolerance?
The specialist specifies that the participants’ blood alcohol concentrations were slightly above the legal limit in American states. “The effects of alcohol on pain tolerance may be greater in those who drink more than they did in these experimentshe believes. This can make them even more likely to be aggressive towards others.”
