Researchers investigate drinking rates in a variety of ways.  One way is by asking subjects to fill out surveys about their drinking history, usually over the last two weeks.  One question that is important to know is, "Do subjects actually know what is a 'standard drink'"?  If subjects do not understand how much alcohol is in a "standard drink" then the data provided by subjects self-report would be incorrect.  Do you know the size of a "standard drink"?  Click here to find out if you are correct for a beer, glass of wine or shot of hard alcohol.

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One way to investigate if adolescent and college students understand the size of a "standard drink" is to have them free pour liquid in a simulated alcohol pouring task.  Data from our laboratory and others demonstrates that college students (students from the United States and other countries such as Singapore) over-pour a standard drink often by as much as 25%.  See Figure.    This data suggests that college students actually may drink more alcohol than they report!