Pain Changes among Men from Before to After Drinking: Effects of Expectancy Set and Dose Manipulations with Alcohol and Tonic as Mediated by Prior Experience with Alcohol

Abstract
In an experiment that manipulated the set that one would consume (or not consume) an alcoholic beverage, pain reduction ocurred among men (N=52) tole that they had consumed alcohol if they reported customarily drinking in large amounts or drinking in order to attain positive emotional states. When the men''s belief that they had or had not consumed alcohol was taken into account, the propensity to drik for social-celebratory and personal-deficiency reasons was also associated with pain reduction.