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What Men Want: The Role Of Reflective Opposite-Sex Normative Preferences In Alcohol Use Among College Women, Joseph W. Labrie, Jessica Cail, Justin F. Hummer, Andrew Lac, Clayton Neighbors

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Misperceptions of peer drinking norms have been found to be strongly associated with individual drinking behavior, especially for proximal reference groups such as same-sex friends. Less studied are the effects of perceived preferences from the opposite sex on alcohol use; that is, the behaviors an individual believe the opposite sex prefers from them. Research suggests that these perceived “reflective” normative preferences may be particularly salient among college women, who may drink in pursuit of intimate relationships and positive attention from male peers. Heterosexual undergraduate students from two universities participated in this project. Females answered questions regarding the amount of alcohol …