Alcohol and eye contact.

Abstract

The effects of alcohol (0.9 g ethanol/kg body weight) on mood and eye contact were studied in male and female subjects engaged in dyadic interaction with unfamiliar, continuously gazing like‐sex or opposite‐sex interviewers. Thirty‐two volunteer students served as unpaid subjects in a 2 × 2 × 2 factorial design with four subjects per cell. Significant subjective increases in affiliative mood were observed in male as well as in female subjects at a mean BAC of 1.08 ± 0.12 g/l. Significant interactive effects were observed as functions of the sex of the subject and interviewer with alcohol/placebo treatment in analyses of pretreatment/post treatment change for two measures of gaze duration. The results were discussed in terms of the Argyle‐Dean conflict model and it was concluded that alcohol did not induce the net approach gain expected as a result of increased affiliation and/or reduced interpersonal avoidance. Sober subjects tended to look at their like‐sex interviewers more and drunk subjects less, the trend being particularly evident in female subjects. It was suggested that the effects of alcohol on eye contact may be strongly associated with sex‐roles.