Alcohol and Human Emotion: a Multidimensional Analysis Incorporating Startle-probe Methodology

The effect of alcohol intoxication on emotional response was investigated using a model of emotion that includes both arousal and valence dimensions. Thirty-six university students were exposed to multiple presentations of photographic slides selected to elicit distinctive emotional reactions ranging from very pleasant to very unpleasant; half of them received a moderate (approximately .75 ml/kg) dose of ethanol. The students' psychophysiological responses indicated that both general startle reactivity and autonomic indices specific to emotional arousal were diminished by alcohol. However, the affective modulation of startle, occurring with emotional states manipulated by slides with distinct valences, remained intact. These findings suggest that "stress-response dampening" by alcohol may involve a nonspecific attenuation of arousal reactions evident for positive as well as negative stimuli and that theories of motivation for drinking that are based on mood alteration may need refinement.