Alcohol Expectancies in Social Anxiety

This study examined the role of negative beliefs about drinking alcohol in the development of social anxiety symptoms and processes. Undergraduate participants were randomly assigned to drinking alcohol, a placebo, or orange juice, and were led to believe that alcohol can make people lose control over their actions and speech. Then, they were asked to enter a social interaction with a stranger. Those in the alcohol and placebo conditions were more anxious before and during the social interaction, compared to those who only had consumed orange juice (and who did not believe they could lose control). 24 hours later, those in the alcohol and placebo conditions ruminated more about the interaction. However, it was noticed that the physiological effects of alcohol influenced results: participants in the alcohol condition were less anxious than those in the placebo condition prior to the interaction; they also perceived themselves as having made a better first impression. In this way, beliefs about losing control appear to play a role in the processes related to social anxiety.