Citation

Fairbairn CE, Sayette MA, Aalen OO, Frigessi A. Clinical Psychological Science 2015; 3(5): 686-701.

Affiliation

Oslo Centre for Biostatistics and Epidemiology, Department of Biostatistics, University of Oslo, and Research Support Services, Oslo University Hospital.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2015, Association for Psychological Science, Publisher SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.1177/2167702614548892

PMID

26504673

Abstract

Researchers have hypothesized that men gain greater reward from alcohol than women. However, alcohol-administration studies testing participants drinking alone have offered weak support for this hypothesis. Research suggests that social processes may be implicated in gender differences in drinking patterns. We examined the impact of gender and alcohol on "emotional contagion"-a social mechanism central to bonding and cohesion. Social drinkers (360 male, 360 female) consumed alcohol, placebo, or control beverages in groups of three. Social interactions were video recorded, and both Duchenne and non-Duchenne smiling were continuously coded using the Facial Action Coding System.

RESULTS revealed that Duchenne smiling (but not non-Duchenne smiling) contagion correlated with self-reported reward and typical drinking patterns. Importantly, Duchenne smiles were significantly less "infectious" among sober male versus female groups, and alcohol eliminated these gender differences in smiling contagion.

FINDINGS identify new directions for research exploring social-reward processes in the etiology of alcohol problems.

Language: en