It's well known that alcohol is a catalyst to barroom brawls. Therefore, it seems reasonable to conclude that alcohol increases aggression and rage. A recent study done at the University of Kentucky suggests otherwise.
The study shows that alcohol actually impairs our brain's ability to allocate our mental resources to the various activities around us. We are more engrossed on provocative events rather than calming ones. This is what actually causes barroom brawls.
Scientists set up a study where a group of young men were inebriated while another group stayed sober. They then put both of these groups up to a stressful game which required quick responses. The winner would give the loser a shock of varying intensity. Scientists also made some of the volunteers perform a difficult memory task with the purpose of seeing how the groups reacted to the shocks while distracted.
What was found was that the drunks who had nothing to distract them exhibited more aggression towards their adversaries, whereas the drunks who were distracted were far less aggressive than their sober counterparts.
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