Socially Desirable Images
People are motivated to behave in ways that will project socially desirable images of themselves. Concerns about peer acceptance, social approval, and having an image that you're "one of the crowd" may be particularly strong determinants of drinking behavior among college students. The most frequently desired impressions that motivate first-year students to drink alcohol are "cool/laid back" and "fun/social". Seventy-five percent of first-year college students report performing at least one risky behavior (most commonly alcohol use) during their first semester in order to "fit in".
"You learn that if you don't drink, it's kinda like, 'Oh she's not having fun.' They look down on you. If you do drink, it's like you're more open to be more social and people are, 'OK, she's one of us, she's more into socializing.' That kind of thing."
Students who report being introverted, lonely, or having low self esteem might be expected to drink alcohol to present themselves as fun and exciting. But these expectancies have not been found to determine drinking behavior among this group of students.