Alcohol's Effect on Some Formal Aspects of Verbal Social Communication

The effects of alcohol on formal aspects of social communication were studied by scoring transcripts of verbal discussions between dyads in alcohol and placebo sessions. At a low dose (3.83 to 1.0 ml/kg), alcohol significantly (P Less than .01) increased the amount of and overlap in communications, and tended to decrease subjects' acknowledgement of their partners' statements. At a high dose (1.5 ml/kg), the rate of overlap in speech was additionally increased, but there was a leveling off or reversal of the drug's effect on amount of communication. The subjects' blood alcohol levels were not related to the drug's effect.