Asymmetrical perceptions of tipping points in alcohol consumption: Lower perceived tolerance in oneself versus peer.

Objective

The current study investigated how tipping points, a phenomenon in which an individual's threshold for perceiving a change has been exceeded, may be asymmetrical between self-tipping points and those applied to others and how experiences with alcohol affect these judgments.

Participants

Undergraduates (N = 300).

Methods

Participants reported their drinking frequency, quantity, and parental alcohol use, and evaluated tipping points by assessing how many drinks over the course of how many days they would perceive as problematic alcohol use in an online survey.

Results

Participants, on average, reported lower tipping points indicative of problematic drinking behaviors for themselves, as compared to their peers. Results also revealed that quantity of alcohol consumption as well as parental alcohol use and participant age contributed to determining problematic consumption tipping points.

Conclusions

Considerations should be given to how these tipping point judgments may affect drinking behaviors. Additionally, there is evidence that current consumption may cloud these judgments.