In our society, the use of alcohol is a frequently exhibited and highly complex behavior which involves multiple components. The majority (74%) of our adult population drinks, and, for the most part, this drinking is problem free. Thus, for most persons, drinking can be considered a socially normative, or prosocial, behavior. A functional analysis interpretation of the behavior of drinking alcohol suggests that drinking serves different functions for different individuals in different contexts. Hence, consistent with this approach, the fact that some people develop drinking problems and others do not is seen as dependent upon a given individual’s internal and external environment, including biological and sociocultural factors, past learning history, and, of course, features of prevailing environmental situations.