Behavior of alcoholics and spouses in a simulation game situation

The interaction of alcoholics and their spouses in a simulation game was systematically observed and compared to the behavior of nonalcoholic couples. Overall, 28 couples played a mixed-motive bargaining game, the "tax game," which is a modification of Kelly's "game of nines." Alcohol couples as a group did not manifest a distinct game "style." They were less uniform in this respect than "normal" couples and a mixed group of "psychiatrically disturbed" couples. Subgroup trends without the alcoholic sample were suggested and discussed. Extreme behavior, rigidity, and lack of communication were common features in the game behavior of alcoholic couples that did not appear to relate to a particular game style, but did distinguish the game play of alcoholic couples from that of nonalcoholic couples.