Social and solitary drinking: Effects on consumption and mood in male social drinkers

Rates of alcohol consumption and mood development were studied in four male social drinkers serving as their own controls: (a) in a real life social drinking situation of the subject's choice, and (b) under artificial solitary drinking conditions. Almost twice as much alcohol was consumed during party drinking, while solitary drinking was experienced as aversive and failed to induce the euphoric effects reported at the party. Implications for tension reduction theory and adjunctive behaviour theory were discussed.