So, being drunk doesn’t actually change your personality much, study says
Well, this might be a hard pillow to swallow for some: Being drunk doesn’t change your personality much, a new study claims. We know: This info is super late. It would’ve been nice to have this knowledge on hand before we got drunk for this first time and tried to blame our sloppy shenanigans on the alcohol, right? Yeah, except that probably wouldn’t have stopped us from the inevitable face palm-y behavior that most of us have engaged in repeatedly (and regrettably).
So, you know those drunk shopping purchases you made while you were shit-faced? According to researchers at the Missouri Institute of Mental Health, you probably would’ve still bought that stuff if you were sober.
According to a report published in Clinical Psychological Science, a research team surveyed 156 people on their average alcohol consumption levels, as well as how they differentiated between their “typical” drunken and sober personalities.
Later they were brought back to the lab, separated into groups of three or four, and asked to drink and interact. Some received plain Sprite while others sipped and Vodka that had been mixed to bring their alcohol blood content to approximately .09.
After 15 minutes, the groups were filmed doing puzzles and other activities to elicit observable behaviors. Both the drunk subjects and outside observers later evaluated the behaviors and supposed alcohol-induced personality changes.
Surprisingly, the findings showed that when we get drunk, we only believe our behavior is drastically different than what others see.
The study’s lead scientist Rachel Winograd explained,
"The participants experienced internal changes that were real to them but imperceptible to observers."
Huh. So outsiders barely notice a difference between our sober and inebriated selves? BRB, we need a stiff drink to help us accept that blaming it on the alcohol is officially a BS excuse.
