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Research shows alcohol reduces pain, increases aggression

January 10, 2025

Research shows alcohol reduces pain, increases aggression

Brad Bushman

Professor Brad Bushman’s article “​​Too Insensitive to Care: Alcohol Increases Human Aggression by Increasing Pain Threshold” was published in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs. 

The study explored whether alcohol makes people more aggressive because it raises their tolerance for pain. This was tested by seeing how much pain participants could tolerate after drinking alcohol and how aggressively they acted in a game.

The study found that alcohol makes people less sensitive to pain, and this reduced sensitivity leads them to act more aggressively.  The less pain the participant felt, the more pain they inflicted on others.