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How people decide to consume (more) alcohol when feeling stressed
Jonas Dora1, Maxwell Shinn2, Amber Copeland3
1Department of Psychology, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA.
Addiction (Abingdon, England)
|October 22, 2025
Summary
Acute stress can lead sober individuals to choose alcohol over non-alcoholic options, supporting the tension reduction hypothesis. This stress-induced bias influences decisions about initiating drinking, not continuing it.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Psychology
- Behavioral Economics
Background:
- The tension reduction hypothesis posits alcohol consumption alleviates stress.
- Previous research indicates stress increases alcohol's perceived value.
- Relative value of alcohol compared to alternatives is crucial for drinking decisions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if acute stress influences alcohol choice over appealing non-alcoholic alternatives.
- To identify the cognitive mechanisms driving alcohol choice behavior under stress.
Main Methods:
- Laboratory-based randomized 2x2 experimental design.
- 160 regular alcohol consumers participated in a simulated bar setting.
- Assessed choice behavior and decision response times using drift diffusion modeling.
Main Results:
- Stress moderately increased alcohol choices in sober participants.
- Stress induced a computational bias toward alcohol during decision-making.
- This bias influenced choices but did not affect decision carefulness or evidence sensitivity.
Conclusions:
- Findings support the tension reduction hypothesis for initiating drinking.
- Stress led to choosing alcohol over preferred alternatives in sober individuals.
- The effect was specific to decisions about starting to drink, not continuing.
Keywords:
affect regulationalcoholdrift diffusion modelstresstension reduction hypothesisvalue‐based decision‐makingMore Related Videos
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