As a college student, alcohol affects my life in a huge way. I don’t go a single day without hearing someone saying something about their drunken episode from last weekend, or about how “wasted” they plan to get this weekend. Anytime I hear someone mention a “party” I immediately associate it with binge drinking. What is it that makes people drink or use any drugs that causes psychoactive effects? The top three perspectives of psychology that are relevant with respect to why some people take drugs are the sociocultural, learning and biological perspectives.

Every weekend I am asked “do you want to get drunk tonight?”, or “did you get messed up last night?” When I watch beer or liquor commercials on TV, all the people engaging in the consumption of alcohol seem to be well liked, and more popular. Many of my professors joke with the students about drinking, and one of my professors gave us a recipe for margaritas. Society has made it clear to me that everyone drinks, and if I want to be cool and popular, then I will have to drink too. After learning the facts about drugs and alcohol in middle school, I was convinced that I would never engage in such moronic behavior no matter what. When I was in high school, I had my first alcoholic drink because everyone else was doing it, and people were pressuring me. Sociocultural reasons explain why I, and many other people, try a substance for the first time. When I got to college, I found out there was almost no escaping the pressures of drugs and drinking, unless you chose your friends well. Drinking (and for some cultures, drug use) is deeply embedded in our society, and many other cultures around the world. People think, “If everyone else is doing it, why shouldn’t I?”

After social factors pressure people into drinking, they learn that the feeling they get from drinking is enjoyable, and can even help them to relax. Sociocultural reasons and having learned that abusing the substance is pleasurable explains why a social user abuses the substance of their choice. They get used to the hangovers and other negative effects of using this substance. With many good experiences, their behavior is positively reinforced through meeting new people, having a good time and feeling accepted while engaging in drinking. They begin to desire drinking more and more, knowing that after a few drinks, they will start to feel more relaxed, sociable, and better about themselves. They begin to think that the only way to have a good time is by abusing the substance of their choice. As they consistently give into their cravings, they get closer and closer to addiction.

Once someone is addicted - although actual results may vary from substance to substance – their body actually needs to use that substance in order to function correctly. Some people are more prone to becoming addicts than others. The biological addiction to a substance explains why someone who is a severe addict abuses the substance of their choice. Coming from a family with a long line of alcoholics, some recovered, and others not, I know that biologically, my chances of becoming an alcoholic myself are dramatically higher than most other’s. Keeping this in mind, I try to avoid drinking as best I can, as it is hardest to quit once you are an addict, and I never want to enter that stage.

There are many different explanations as to why someone abuses a substance; most of the time there is more than one right answer. Many of the psychological perspectives can be used at once to explain the person’s thought process (or lack thereof) to make the decision to abuse a substance or not to abuse a substance. As the substance changes and stages of addiction change, psychological explanations change; as some motives are stronger for some users, while other motives are more prevalent in the decision making of others.