We trust strangers more when we’re drunk – but only if we’re at the same event

Professor Giuseppe Attanasi from Corvinus University and colleagues interviewed more than 1800 attendees at a large music festival and measured alcohol consumption through a breathalyser and self-perceived intoxication. They also measured different types of trust: trust for others in general, trust for those taking part in a shared experience (other festival attendees), and trust in drinkers at the same event.  

The results show a positive and significant relationship between alcohol intoxication and trust towards other event participants and drinkers, but no correlation between intoxication and trust towards others in general. 

In fact, generalised trust decreases if the individual believes others are intoxicated; the thought of being surrounded by drunk people reduces trust more generally.   

“This research speaks in favour of a sort of endogenous group formation, with drinkers trusting other attendees, and other drinkers, more as they are all part of a shared event where alcohol intake is widely accepted and considered almost a norm,” says Professor Attanasi. 
 

“I don’t drink as much as the others, it is just peer pressure“ 

Most participants also believe they are drinking less than other festival attendees. As alcohol intake helps an individual trust someone more who is also drinking (and drinking more than them, given their belief), this can be seen as an acceptance of such group behaviour. If alcohol intake is perceived as a sign of belonging to the same group, this could explain why trust levels toward other drinkers are higher, explain the researchers. 

Alcohol abuse is already well-understood as a health hazard, but these findings provide important insights into the behavioural effects of social drinking. 
 
These findings were first published in December 2024 in the Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics.