Cognitive and situational factors predict alcoholic beverage selection.

It has been clearly established that individuals' alcohol consumption tends to covary with the rate and absolute quantity of a drinking partner. Sixty men and 73 women participated in a two-part study designed to examine the role of modeling and alcohol-related expectancies in predicting whether individuals would model the type of beverage selected by a confederate. A stepwise logistic regression designed to predict whether an individual would select an alcoholic or nonalcoholic drink indicated that confederate beverage choice and personal alcohol expectancy (social/physical pleasure) predicted beverage selection. Nonsignificant predictors included gender of the participant, whether participant and confederate were of the same gender, fear of negative evaluation, and typical drinking. The results indicate the importance of evaluating both individual and situational variables in predicting behavior.