The Latin adage “in vino veritas” is one of many sayings that promote the idea that wine is a kind of drug of truth.
Does alcohol really make people more honest?
To conclude, it is both yes and no.
“Alcohol increases the likelihood that people will say what’s on their mind, which may be true in some cases, and in other cases, they may say things they think are true because they’re drunk,” Aaron White, a senior adviser at the National Institute on Alcoholism and Alcoholism Epidemiology and Biometry, told Live Science.
“So it’s certainly true that someone is more likely to open up after a few drinks,” he says, “but they might also say things that you think are true when they’re drunk but don’t take seriously when they’re sober.” For example, a drunk friend might make a bold promise to move or quit their job, only to go back on it the next morning.
Direct studies of how alcohol affects people’s honesty are rare, but we can get some hints from studies of its effects on personality, emotions, and cognition.
A 2017 study in the journal Clinical Psychological Science examined how participants’ personalities changed after they drank vodka lemonade until their blood alcohol level was 0.09 percent—just over the legal limit for drunk driving (0.08 percent). The biggest personality change observed by outside observers was that the participants became significantly more extroverted after drinking. The study didn’t examine whether alcohol is a “truth drug,” but it makes sense that people who feel more comfortable in social settings would be more likely to be honest.
Alcohol can help people talk about things they’ve been holding in their hearts, but it can also affect their emotions and make those thoughts volatile, Dr. White explained.
Michael Sayet, a psychology professor at the University of Pittsburgh, said, “We tend to be more emotional when we drink. We may laugh more and talk louder in pleasant conversations, but in less pleasant situations, as[famous psychologist]Claude Steele (professor emeritus at Stanford University) says, we may be more likely to cry over a beer.”
Such heightened emotions can make people talk seriously, but they can also make people more susceptible to saying things they don’t mean or that they deeply regret later. This is similar to how some people become violent or gamble more when they drink alcohol. These behaviors can be done without alcohol, but are more likely to be controlled when sober.
“It’s no surprise that alcohol can change our thoughts and emotions, so it can change our behavior as well. Alcohol can make our behavior more extreme,” Professor Sayet said.
According to Dr. White, these effects come from alcohol’s ability to decrease inhibitions. Alcohol weakens the signals in the prefrontal cortex, the area of the brain that regulates behavior and controls impulses, making it easier to follow through on impulses.
Alcohol also suppresses the amygdala, a region deep in the brain known to trigger fear and anxiety. When you are sober, the amygdala usually sends warning signals to prevent you from saying or doing something that could lead to social embarrassment, but after a few drinks, these signals become weaker.
People are more likely to spill their secrets when they drink, but they also run the risk of saying something they don’t mean and regret the next morning. The effects of alcohol on the human mind are too complex to be simply black and white.
“Alcohol is not the elixir of truth, that’s for sure,” said Dr. White.
Reporter Park Hae-sik, Donga.com [email protected]
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2024-09-04 04:50:38