Effects of alcohol on emotion recognition: An alcohol-administration trial

Alcohol consumption is widely recognized for its complex effects on social behavior, simultaneously fostering social connections in some individuals while heightening aggression in others. However, the underlying mechanisms for this effect, including emotion recognition, remain disputed among researchers. This study examined how alcohol influences the accuracy of emotion recognition, with particular attention to sex differences.

Individuals who regularly consume alcohol (n = 390; 180 females; M_age = 23; 48.97% White) were randomly assigned to either an alcohol (targeting a breath alcohol concentration of 0.08%) or control condition. They were assessed using the shortened version of the Geneva Emotion Recognition Test which evaluates recognition of 14 emotions through dynamic videos.

Alcohol consumption significantly reduced overall emotion-recognition accuracy, b = 0.038, SE = 0.012, p = .002. Males exhibited significantly lower emotion identification accuracy than females, regardless of beverage condition, M = 0.511, SD = 0.123. Regarding individual emotions, alcohol significantly impaired the recognition of anger and irritation across both sexes, and specifically impaired interest, pride, and relief among male participants.

Our findings indicate that alcohol impairs the ability to interpret emotional expressions, with potential implications for impaired social interactions and heightened aggression. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).