Results:
1.
As you might expect, participants who expected to receive alcohol, and then actually received alcohol, felt what they expected to feel a result of drinking.
2.
But interestingly, participants who expected alcohol, but actually received no alcohol, also felt things they expected to feel as a result of drinking. The drinking setting itself was enough to make participants believe they had consumed alcohol. The belief that they had consumed alcohol was enough for both men and women to feel less inhibited.
3.
Participants who did not expect to receive alcohol, but actually did receive alcohol, felt none of the effects of the alcohol. In other words, the belief that they would not receive alcohol was enough to offset the pharmacological effects of alcohol.
4.
People’s expectancies concerning the effects of alcohol contributed strongly to the “buzz” the participants felt, even when they expected alcohol but received only tonic water. The buzz people felt was a result of: a) what they expected to happen, and b) the setting in which they were drinking.