Hearing certain words or phrases associated with alcohol may actually have the same effects as drinking, suggests a recent study published in the journal Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin.

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Lead study author Dr. Eduardo Vasquez of the University of Kent in the UK along with two other colleagues from U.S. universities examined the aggressive behaviors of individuals who heard alcohol-related words--known as alcohol priming. The effect was demonstrated in situations when they were provoked in a way that was ambiguous or not obvious.

Findings showed that alcohol-related words increased aggression when individuals felt threatened in a way that was rather ambiguous.

"These results provide another strong demonstration that exposing someone to alcohol-related words alone can influence social behavior in ways that are consistent with the effects of alcohol consumption," Vasquez, of Kent's School of Psychology, said in a news release. "Our research also examined the parameters within which alcohol priming is likely to affect aggression. These effects seem to occur primarily when the provocation is not clear-cut and obvious, and are thus more open to interpretation. Under alcohol priming, the interpretation becomes more negative, and people become more aggressive." 

"We've shown that people attending events where alcohol is typically present do not have to drink to experience, or be subject to, the aggression-enhancing effects of alcohol, a fact that would seem to suggest caution in all such environments," Vasquez concluded.

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