Psychosomatic Medicine 28:13-26 (1966)
© 1966 American Psychosomatic Society

Comparative Psychophysiological Studies of Alcoholic and Nonalcoholic Subjects Undergoing Experimentally Induced Ethanol Intoxication

¹ Stanley Cobb Laboratories for Psychiatric Research, Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Mass.

Four chronic alcoholic and 4 nonalcoholic subjects were studied before, while, and after they underwent experimentally induced intoxication. Chronic alcoholics expected that when they became intoxicated their feelings, behavior, social importance, and interpersonal relationships with those around them would undergo major changes in directions they considered "better" and "more pleasing." Similar kinds of expectations were not present in the nonalcoholics. Findings show that chronic alcoholics actually did believe that their expectations were partially to completely realized, although observations often suggested the opposite. It is argued that alcoholics have an ego state more integrated while intoxicated than while unintoxicated. The relationship between chronic intoxication and "role" is discussed. Hypotheses derived from psychodynamic psychology and sociology are used to explain these findings.