The Blame in the Bottle

Abstract

In an experiment designed to apply Kelley's (1972) concept of causal schemata to drunken behavior, subjects read short stories depicting acts that did or did not have an a priori association with alcohol use. The actor was presented as either drunk or sober and as either an alcoholic or social drinker. Participants rated the actor's role as to perceived cause, responsibility, blame, and suggested punishment. Intoxication of the actor led to decreased attributions, with acts associated with alcohol not affected differently than nonassociated acts. The four dependent measures showed a pattern consistent with earlier findings that these variables reflect different judgments.