I agree, I also think that it is important to consider peer groups. Especially regarding alcohol, I think wanting to fit in is a factor in this behavior and being drunk is often accepted as a norm among college students.
The New York Times' Health page has an interesting article up that discusses different studies done on binge drinking. Before heading out to a tropical destination for spring break, check it out.
In a series of studies in the 1970s and ’80s, psychologists at the University of Washington put more than 300 students into a study room outfitted like a bar with mirrors, music and a stretch of polished pine. The researchers served alcoholic drinks, most often icy vodka tonics, to some of the students and nonalcoholic ones, usually icy tonic water, to others. The drinks looked and tasted the same, and the students typically drank five in an hour or two.
The studies found that people who thought they were drinking alcohol behaved exactly as aggressively, or as affectionately, or as merrily as they expected to when drunk. “No significant difference between those who got alcohol and those who didn’t,” Alan Marlatt, the senior author, said. “Their behavior was totally determined by their expectations of how they would behave.”
A great example of the power of suggestion.
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