Is Alcohol Really a Truth Serum?

By Jordan Mayfield, LSCSW, LCAC

It’s a long-held belief that when people are under the influence of alcohol, they are more likely to tell the truth. This has become a pop culture norm which is bolstered by referring to alcohol as “truth serum” or quips like “the drunk mind speaks the sober heart.” But is this idea supported by science? Is what another person or ourselves say while drunk more likely to be how they/we really feel? As most things that involve the brain and feelings, the truth is somewhat complicated.

In the way alcohol impairs the brain it does often cause people to become more talkative and open, however that doesn’t mean what they talk about is true. According to the Gateway Foundation “context can help determine whether drunks mean what they say. For example, heartfelt emotions are often genuine because people lack the rationalization skills to be devious and contriving. On the other hand, negative comments or anger may be a defense mechanism and not necessarily stem from truth.”

Alcohol is a depressant and thrusts us into what is called “emotion mind.” When we are in emotion mind, we are controlled by emotional impulses and urges. When we are highly emotional, it can be a common occurrence to say something we don’t mean in the “heat of the moment.” For example, a person in conflict might say “I hate you” while in emotion mind, but once they have reconnected with “wise mind,” they are able to differentiate that they are upset by something you did, but do not in fact hate you. So, the upset they are experiencing is rooted in reality, but the intensity and extent in which they are expressing it are not.

Alcohol impacts evaluative cognitive control which is the process we develop to filter out what is helpful/harmful or appropriate/inappropriate. Without this filter, it is like a child interacting in a social situation for the first time where they might say something shocking just to see what the response will be, even if they don’t agree with what they are saying. The Broadway Treatment Center expands on this by noting that “a sober person would experience something, compare it to past actions, and use Negative Effect, or memories linked to past negative experiences such as stress, embarrassment, or pain and choose not to do it. A drunk person lacks the ability to recall these memories or their associations and will simply perform the behavior.”

Due to a lack of inhibitions, alcohol can cause a person to become more “loose lipped” about feelings and beliefs that are preexisting. For example, alcohol does not cause a person to be abusive, but it does cause an already abusive person to become more abusive. This might look like an emotionally abusive or controlling partner becoming more physically aggressive while under the influence. The alcohol did not cause this behavior as the core belief of entitlement previously existed, but it allowed the core belief to manifest in more violent ways. So, if your partner is telling you they are only abusive while drunk, they are lying, and those belief systems about you and the relationship exist in their sober mind, but they are utilizing their filter more effectively.

So, to determine if someone is telling the truth while under the influence of alcohol, context is key. The Bayant Treatment Center suggests “negative comments and anger while drinking tends to be defense mechanisms and may not necessarily stem from the truth. Intoxicated individuals are also more likely to respond emotionally in social situations due to inhibited emotional processing.” However, that does not mean that a person should not be held accountable for something they have said while drunk, even if they didn’t mean it. Conversely being under the influence of alcohol does not indicate we mean what we say. That is why being drunk prohibits us from giving informed consent.

In diving into this research, I hoped the results would be a little clearer or direct. What can be said for certain is that alcohol is not a truth serum. At times drunk people tell the truth due to loss of inhibitions, and at times people do and say things they would never do while sober. So, the data are as inconsistent as trying to determine if a sober person is telling the truth. It ultimately depends on the context and the person’s history of reliability.