Myopia makes drinkers aggressive.

• Position: Alcohol - Brief article

Drinking enough alcohol to become intoxicated increases aggression significantly in people who have one particular personality trait, according to research from Ohio State University, Columbus. People without this trait do not get any more aggressive when drunk than they would when they are sober. The trait is the ability to consider the future consequences of current actions.

"People who focus on the here and now, without thinking about the impact on the future, are more aggressive than others when they are sober, but the effect is magnified greatly when they're drunk," indicates Brad Bushman, lead author of the study and professor of communication and psychology. "If you carefully consider the consequences of your actions, it is unlikely getting drunk is going to make you any more aggressive than you usually are."

Bushman says it makes sense that alcohol would make present-focused people more aggressive. "Alcohol has a myopic effect--it narrows your attention to what is important...