Temporal and individual differences in the perception accuracy of college peers’ alcohol consumption

Abstract

Background: Research indicates that perceived alcohol consumption might be biased. This study examines temporal patterns and individual differences of this inaccuracy. To accommodate some typical problems, a social network approach is applied. Methods: In a longitudinal social network, 100 psychology freshmen indicated every two weeks during their first semester, how many drinks per week they consumed, what they believed the average of their peers consumed, and with whom of their class they were acquainted. At baseline, also individual differences in trait self-control were assessed. Findings: Comparing perceived and actually reported peer consumption, students overestimated the consumption of peers by 1.22 drinks (p < .001). Moreover, over the course of the semester, temporal differences emerged: overestimation increased when actual peer-reported consumption was low and diminished if peers reported high actual consumption. Finally, overestimation was moderated by individual differences: Individuals reporting high alcohol consumption (b = -0.25, p < .001) and low self-control (b = 0.27, p = .010) showed higher overestimation. Conclusions: Students seem to overestimate the alcohol consumption of peers and are relatively insensitive to changes in alcohol consumption reported by their peers. Furthermore, the variation of overestimation as a function of own alcohol consumption and self-control might be seen as a sign of informational and motivational processes underlying the bias. These processes might inform future social norm interventions of alcohol consumption in college.