Abstract
The proposed paper is devoted to investigating the role alcohol plays in the emergence and development of violent behaviors. Substance abuse has always been associated with range and physical abuse. For this reason, the study aimed to determine the causation between alcohol and violence. An experiment was conducted implying the experimental and control groups to investigate how the amount of alcohol consumed influences participants’ aggression and attitude to it. The paper supports the idea that a person’s mood, emotional spectrum, and behaviors might be affected by alcohol and alter towards negative ones. The study also establishes the basis for the new research in the same field linked to the analysis of how addiction might impact individuals and their habits.
Introduction
Alcohol and other drug use have always been associated with aggression. Bartholow and Heinz (2006) state that in public opinion, drunk people more often commit a crime and are more violent. Furthermore, investigating the cases of domestic violence, Hendler et al. (2013) came to the conclusion that in many scenarios, severe traumas were associated with alcohol use and other addictions. For this reason, it is vital to understand how the substance affects individuals. It means that the amount of alcohol consumed will be the independent variable of the proposed research, while participants’ emotional state will be the dependent one. The study aims to determine the correlation between alcohol and violence.
As stated previously, the amount of alcohol is an independent variable, the manipulation of which can show different results. The primary goal of this manipulation is to recognize the major behavioral shifts in drunk individuals as it is viewed as an independent variable.
Moreover, alcohol might precondition the change in thinking towards disregarding existing social norms. At the same time, Kuypers et al. (2020) state that alcohol does not promote radical changes in people’s behaviors; instead, it triggers some hidden mechanisms. In such a way, it might have some impact on people, but it is also essential to consider other psychological determinants.
The emotional state of drunk people will be evaluated in the study as the dependent variable. The primary goal of introducing this variable is to analyze behavioral and emotional changes in people under the impact of alcohol. For instance, not aggressive and violent individuals will not show negative changes (Davis et al., 2022; Watkins et al., 2015). At the same time, in some cases, the emergence of verbal aggression, such as insults, rude words, or threats, is observed (Eastwood et al., 2020; Spirito et al., 2021). Under these conditions, violent behaviors might have different reasons and determinants.
In this regard, the relationship between alcohol and aggressive behaviors needs additional evaluations. It is vital to investigate the role alcohol plays in violent behaviors and the influence of various psychological factors. It is already known that alcohol helps to disregard limiting factors and provoke aggression (Robertson et al., 2020; Whiteside et al., 2013). At the same time, non-aggressive people could be friendly under the alcohol impact (Kraus et al., 2015). It means that the existing literature offers two different opinions on how alcohol impacts individuals, supported by specific evidence acquired during the experiments. For this reason, there is a need for additional investigation.
The proposed experiment will help to acquire specific results demonstrating the role alcohol plays in aggressive behaviors and violence. For this reason, it rests on the hypothesis, which is critical for understanding alcohol as the factor promoting aggression; however, it also depends on existing implications and conditions. We predict that the experimental group consuming alcohol will report higher aggression levels compared to the control group receiving a placebo. Thus, consumption of alcohol will result in the growth of self-reported and observed aggression levels.
Methods
Hypothesis
We predict that the experimental group consuming alcohol will report higher aggression levels compared to the control group receiving a placebo.
Procedure
The procedure implies consuming a determined amount of alcohol in laboratory conditions. The participants will be divided into two groups, the experimental and control ones, and asked to complete the Aggression Questionnaire at the start and end of the experiment to compare results and conclude about changes in their self-perception of their aggressive behaviors (Bartholow & Heinz, 2006). The random assignment will be used to create the needed cohorts. The experimental group will be provided with a fixed amount of beer, while the individuals from the control one will be secretly provided with a placebo. A researcher will evaluate participants’ states during the experiment to measure the changes in behavior or speech towards more aggressive words or actions and compare groups’ results. It will help to correlate the amount of alcohol consumed and conclude whether it might promote aggressive behavior in individuals.
The experiment meets the major ethical standards regarding alcohol administration within lab settings. First, all participants will be 21 and older to avoid possible conflicts. Second, there is no evidence that using alcoholic beverages within lab settings might precondition the emergence of the uncontrolled desire to consume this substance (Davis, 2020). For this reason, it will not promote the development of dependence. Moreover, the offered amount of alcohol will not cause harm to the health of the participants (Davis, 2020). At the same time, the informed consent form will ensure that no individuals with alcohol intolerance or allergy, or severe diseases will be engaged. In such a way, the major ethical standards will be observed.
Participants
It is expected that 20 participants might be needed to conduct the study and form experimental and control groups. The proposed experiment implies specific sampling and inclusion criteria to ensure the high credibility of findings and remain ethical. First, only individuals aged 21 and more can be involved as the study implies consuming alcohol. Second, they should have no health concerns related to this substance use. Moreover, participation should be voluntary, meaning that all participants will have a chance to leave. There are no specific demands on gender, race, or social status as the experiment focuses on investigating how alcohol impacts individuals regardless of these factors. All participants should provide an informed consent form to guarantee that the code of ethics is observed. They should realize the nature of the experiment, the proposed intervention, and the responses expected from them. It is critical for the credibility of outcomes and findings.
Measures
Independent Variable: Amount of Beer Consumed
This study will use the level of alcohol, specifically beer, consumed as the independent variable. It is well known that alcohol consumption has a cumulative effect on an individual’s intoxication, with this amount varying for men and women. For example, the average male requires between 4 (1.400 liters) and 4 (1.750 liters) bottles of beer to become intoxicated, whereas, for women, this amount is reduced to 3 (1.050 liters) and 4 (1.400 liters) bottles (Eastwood et al., 2020). For this reason, increasing the amount of alcohol for respondents would be expected to increase the intoxicating effect. Similar manipulations of the independent variable have already been demonstrated by Liu et al. (2019), who studied the relationship between the amount and strength of alcohol and the socio-demographic factors of the sample. For the current study, the amount of alcohol consumed was adjusted directly for beer, whose strength is traditionally considered to be close to 4.0-5.0 percent (Liu et al., 2019; Bellut & Arendt, 2019). Test participants without differentiation into demographic cohorts will be asked to drink up to four bottles of beer (1.400 liters) as a manipulation of the independent variable, with intoxicating effects assessed after each of the four bottles. At the same time, the control group was offered non-alcoholic beer drinks as a placebo.
Dependent Variable: Respondents’ Attitude Towards Aggression
The respondents’ attitude towards aggression will be used as the dependent variable. For this reason, the dependent variable is described using the Attitude Towards Aggression Scale (ATAS), as shown in Figure 1. This 32-item scale categorizes respondents’ attitudes toward aggression at three levels, including “harming,” “normal,” and “functional” responses (Jansen et al., 2006). Respondents’ answers for each question are measured on a standard five-point Likert scale, from totally disagree (1) to totally agree (5) with the statement. For instance, “an aggression is hurting others mentally or physically”, with which the respondent can either agree, disagree, or express uncertainty in their answer (Jansen et al., 2005, p. 50). Cronbach’s alpha as a measure of level reliability showed promising results for this scale: “harming” (.87), “normal” (.82), and “functional” (.50) (Jansen et al., 2005). The ATAS has also been determined to have satisfactory divergent validity of the scale, explaining up to 70% of the variance in the data (Jansen et al., 2006; Nam et al., 2022). Thus, the ATAS scale can be reliably used in the current study to measure the desired effects of intoxication on respondent aggression.
Expected Results
The hypothesis of the study states that the experimental group consuming alcohol will report higher aggression levels compared to the control group receiving a placebo. For this reason, the results of the study might be consistent with it. In general, it is expected that the proposed experiment will help to acquire specific results demonstrating the role alcohol plays in aggressive behaviors and violence. It is also expected that participants from the experimental group will report more aggressive ideas and feel less reserved considering the amount of alcohol consumed: Moreover, following the ATAS scale, their attitude to aggressive behaviors will alter.
The proposed graph shows that consumption of alcohol will result in the growth of self-reported and observed aggression levels, especially notable after the third bottle.
Discussion
Altogether, the study revolves around the idea that alcohol might impact individuals and promote specific behavioral changes. For this reason, it is expected that during the experiment, participants from the experimental group will demonstrate more aggressive ideas and feel less reserved regarding the amount of alcohol consumed. It supports the proposed hypothesis, stating that the experimental group drinking alcohol will show higher aggression levels compared to the control group receiving a placebo. The acquired findings will be consistent with the previous research on the same topic stating that alcohol might be the factor triggering the development of aggressive thoughts in individuals regarding their hidden implications (Davis et al., 2021; Eastwood et al., 2020; Whiteside et al., 2013). It means that the acquired data supports ideas offered previously.
The paper has several strengths increasing its relevance and practical utility. The first one is the experimental nature of the research. The controlled intervention implying the distribution of alcohol and placebo provides a researcher with a chance to measure the corresponding changes in participants’ behaviors and responses. Applying the ATAS scale, it is possible to acquire credible information about the changes in individuals’ attitudes to aggression and their emotions. Moreover, the existence of the control group helps to discuss the role of stereotypes associated with the use of alcohol and the role expectations play in the emergence and development of aggressive ideas and thoughts. In such a way, the methodology and the study design are the major strengths of the research.
At the same time, it is critical to mention specific limitations that might impact the acquired results. The central limit is the number of participants necessary to conduct the experiment and collect the required information. The credibility of the findings can be achieved if the number of individuals involved in the experiment is sufficient and might be used to prove the correlation between alcohol and aggression statistically. Otherwise, the reduced level of participants might require additional investigation and prevent a researcher from making generalized conclusions about the role of the substance in the emergence of specific thoughts and emotions. The amount of alcohol consumed might also be viewed as a limit as it is vital to ensure that participants will not be harmed, while the individuals might have different responses to the substance.
In such a way, considering the limitations and strengths outlined above, it is possible to plan future research on the given topic. The role of alcohol in emerging and developing aggressive thoughts and emotions remains a critical issue, meaning it is fundamental to continue the investigation in the given sphere. First, the role of other factors that might make the effect of alcohol stronger should be investigated. Second, future research might focus on the specific context, determining how drinking alcohol and aggression might impact relations within a particular group. It would help to acquire more relevant and valuable information about the issue under the research.
Conclusion
Finally, the study has several important practical implications linked to the area under investigation. First, the experiment shows the correlation between alcohol and aggression levels, while the control group helps to understand the role of stereotypes in acquiring violent behaviors and negative thoughts. Second, the expected results might prove difficulties with self-control regarding the amount of alcohol consumed, which is vital for real-life situations. Finally, the research might help to understand the mechanism of how aggression is formed under the influence of alcohol, which is critical regarding the topicality of the issue.
References
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