EFFECTS OF ALCOHOL ADMINISTRATION ON THE DISINHIBITION OF RACIAL PREJUDICE

Eighty-two white male undergraduate social drinkers were selected from high and low scorers on the Modern Racism Scale. Subjects were random ly assigned to 1 of 3 balanced placebo design conditions. After consum ing their beverages, subjects viewed a videotape interaction between a Black and a White confederate. The subjects were told to rate the beh aviors of the confederates, including an ambiguous shove of the White confederate by the Black confederate. It was expected, according to at tribution theory, that high racism subjects would label the shove as m ore aggressive when they believed they had consumed alcohol, because a lcohol could be used as an excuse for the socially unacceptable behavi or of racial discrimination. A mood measure was also administered. Sig nificant main effects of racism group and alcohol dosing were found fo r seriousness of aggression ratings, with high racism subjects and tho se expecting alcohol reporting more serious aggression, but the racism group by dosing condition interaction was not significant. A signific ant racism group by dosing condition interaction was found for the ten sion/anxiety mood scale, with greater tension being reported by high r acism subjects who received alcohol. The results were related to theor ies of alcohol's disinhibiting and attention-limiting properties.