(Newswire.net — May 20, 2017) — Blaming alcohol for alternations in usual behavior appears to be nothing but a lame excuse as alcohol can’t alter personality, scientists say.
According to researchers from the University of Missouri, the booze only brings out a lauder version of people’s usual personality.
“We were surprised to find such a discrepancy between drinkers’ perceptions of their own alcohol-induced personalities and how observers perceived them,” says Dr Rachel Winograd psychologist from the University of Missouri, St. Louis, Telegraph reported.
Dr Winograd said that the participants indeed reported experiencing differences in all factors of personality, but it was all due to a brakes loosening behavior that brings the real personality out of the shell.
The research published in the journal Clinical Psychological Science showed the “extraversion was the only factor robustly perceived to be different across participants in alcohol and sober conditions.”
The myth that alcohol alters personality is so widely rooted in our society that courts worldwide acknowledge change of personality under the influence as a fact. Now, it all may change.
The survey studied 156 participants who completed an initial survey gauging their typical alcohol consumption. The survey consisted of questions on the participants’ personal impression of their own ‘typical sober’ and ‘typical drunk’ personality.
The participants were given Vodka and lemonade cocktails to drink until they reached a ‘happy’ condition, and were then asked to take part in group activities designed to bring out to light their personality. The difference in ‘playing games’ sober and under the influence showed that personality has nothing to do with alcohol, although participants reported lower levels of conscientiousness, openness to experience, and agreeableness.
At the same time, the participants reported higher levels of confidence and emotional stability; while scientist noticed real changes only in extraversion. Also, there was a discrepancy in the changes noticed by raters and internal changes the participants experienced, which brings us to a conclusion that while we think we change on the booze, it is only our subjective perception of ourselves that morphs.