Responses to pain (cold pressor test) were measured in 29 men alcoholics (mean age 44) and 50 men nonalcoholics (mean age 39) before and 30 min after drinking 0.326 ml of alcohol (as bourbon whiskey) per kg of body wt, and 30 min later after drinking twice that amount. Each subject placed his nonwriting arm into 0.degree. C water for 40 s, and reported pain at 5 s intervals on a scale of 1 (first sensation of pain) to 10 (pain sufficient to induce withdrawal of arm from water). The highest reported pain levels were recorded after each trial. Alcoholics experienced a 2-point drop in pain after the 1st drink, and a 3-point drop after the second. After the 2nd dose the alcoholics reported an average test score under 10. Nonalcoholics experienced no pain loss, and reached scores above 10 in each test. There were no differential physiological responses in either group to explain the results. The joint effects of the alcoholics'' more favorable expectations of the effects of alcohol and the physiological cues accompanying the consumption of alcohol seemed likely causes of the differences.