People with Severe Alcohol Use Disorder Have Impaired Ability to Learn From Others’ Painful Experiences, Raising Their Risk for Ongoing Dangerous Drinking, Study Suggests

People with alcohol use disorder (AUD) are less able to learn from others’ negative experiences, potentially rendering them more vulnerable to maintaining their dangerous drinking or relapsing, according to the first study of its type. The study explored social cognition, processes that enable us to understand and interact with others, and specifically social learning, our ability to learn by observing others’ experiences.