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Environmental Determinants of Party Drinking

Bartenders vs. Self-Service

Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.

Michael J. Kalsher

In order to examine two environmental conditions as potential determinants of alcohol consumption, university students at a fraternity party (94 males and 84 females) were served beer and mixed drinks by bartenders (bartender condition) or obtained them from a self-service station (self-service condition). The blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of the partiers was assessed when they arrived and when they left the party. Throughout the party, individual rates of obtaining beer and mixed drinks from the bar and self-service station were monitored. Beer drinkers (especially males) assigned randomly to the self-service condition drank beer at higher rates than beer drinkers served by a bartender. In contrast, the partiers (especially males) who chose mixed drinks drank more beverages in the bartender condition than in the self-service condition. This impact of serving mode was interpreted with basic response-cost notions. That is partiers drank more beer when serving themselves because pouring beer from a pitcher to a mug was faster and more convenient than requesting and receiving a beer from a bartender. On the other hand, preparing mixed drinks required some knowledge and inconvenience, and, therefore, the bartenders decreased this response cost and increased the consumption of mixed drinks. The partiers as a whole got more intoxicated than subjects in similar naturalistic studies, and environmental factors are entertained to explain this difference.

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