Understanding Psychology (10th Ed)

Men Women 
Drinkers who 
don’t binge 
31% 
Nondrinkers 
20% 
Binge drinkers 
49% 
Drinkers who 
don’t binge 
40% 
Nondrinkers 
19% 
Binge drinkers
41%
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166 Chapter 
5 
States of Consciousness
As the dose of alcohol increases, however, the depressive effects become more 
pronounced (see Figure 6). People may feel emotionally and physically unstable. 
They also show poor judgment and may act aggressively. Moreover, memory is 
impaired, brain processing of spatial information is diminished, and speech becomes 
slurred and incoherent. Eventually they may fall into a stupor and pass out. If they 
drink enough alcohol in a short time, they may die of alcohol poisoning (Murphy et 
al., 1998; Thatcher & Clark, 2006; Zeigler et al., 2005). 
Although most people fall into the category of casual users, 14 million people in 
the United States—1 in every 13 adults—have a drinking problem. Alcoholics , people 
with alcohol-abuse problems, come to rely on alcohol and continue to drink even 
though it causes serious diffi culties. In addition, they become increasingly immune 
to the effects of alcohol. Consequently, alcoholics must drink progressively more to 
experience the initial positive feelings that alcohol produces. 
2 
0.05 
3 
0.08 
4 
0.10 
7 
0.20 
9 
0.30 
12 
0.40 
15 
0.50 
Note:
A drink refers to a typical 12-ounce bottle of beer,
a 1.5-ounce shot of hard liquor, or a 5-ounce glass of wine.