Uses of “disinhibition” in the explanation of intoxicated behavior

Abstract

Behavior under alcohol intoxication is often explained by referring to the disinhibiting effects of alcohol. In order to assess the nature and the validity of such explanations, it is important to analyze how the term “disinhibition” is in fact used in the literature. Three central uses of the concept can be distinguished. The disinhibition concept is often intended as an explanation of aggression and other affective or excessive behavior, but the nature of the causal disinhibition process is seldom specified. The term is also often used as a descriptive label for behavior that is socially disapproved or excessive compared with sober behavior. However, the basic use of the term in the life sciences is formal or metatheoretical. This is how it is used in behavioristic psychology, and this use is also found in the alcohol literature. The use of “disinhibition” in psychology is closely linked to the stimulus-response paradigm, while a pharmacological or psychodynamic process is typically implied when the term is used in the alcohol literature. An attempt is made to illustrate how alcohol-related behavior can be designated as a case of “disinhibition” in the formal and descriptive senses of the word, without making any assumptions about the nature of the causal processes involved.