PERCEPTION OF MALE DRINKERS AS A FUNCTION OF THEIR ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGEPREFERENCE

The present study examined perception of a man's likelihood of driving after drinking and his ability to do so as a function of his choice o f beverage. Perceptions of his social characteristics were also examin ed. The sample was composed of 200 volunteer undergraduate psychology students. Equal numbers of male and female subjects read one of four v ignettes which varied only in the male protagonist's choice of beverag e: beer, wine, shots of distilled spirits, or cola. After reading the story, subjects answered multiple-choice questions about the character , tapping social judgments, situational judgments and drinking and dri ving judgments. Subject drinking habits were also assessed. The most n otable result was the consistently positive perception of the protagon ist portrayed as an abstainer. The lack of a consistent alcoholic beve rage distinction implies that the beer-spirits double standard is far from a clear-cut discrimination. Possible explanations for results are discussed. This study questions the robustness of the alcoholic bever age type bias and reflects the need for future research.