SPECIAL ISSUE: THE MESSAGE AND THE MEDIA An Experimental Study on Imitation of Alcohol Consumption in Same-Sex Dyads

Abstract — Aim: In order to study the role of imitation in relation to drinking, alcohol consumption among two peers was examined with experiments in a naturalistic drinking setting. Method: In a bar lab, 135 young adults (52 % women) were exposed to either a non-drinking, a light-drinking or a heavy-drinking same-sex model (i.e. a confederate) in a 30-min time-out session. Instead of using a taste task (Quigley and Collins, 1999. The modeling of alcohol consumption: a meta-analytic review. J Stud Alcohol 60:90–8) in which participants were obliged to consume alcohol, in the current study, a design was used in which participants were allowed to drink alcohol but could also choose non-alcoholic beverages. Results: Craving for alcohol was included as a covariate in ANCOVAs. Results showed that the participants consumed substantially more alcohol when exposed to heavy-drinking models compared to light-and non-drinking models. Craving levels were positively related to alcohol consumption during the experiment. Conclusion: Both men and women imitated same-sex peers ’ drinking behavior in an ad lib naturalistic bar setting. Consuming alcohol is a social phenomenon that frequently takes place with peers at parties, pubs and discos. According to Bandura (1977), most human behavior is learned through modeling or imitation. Individuals are likely to adopt a model’s behavior if this behavior has a functional value and if the model is liked and similar to the observer. Thus, one way peer influ