Two Truths & One Lie social-media game to promote healthier college drinking norms
Official title: 2 College Truths & 1 Lie: Social Media Embedded Gamified Normative Re-education
Funded at Loyola Marymount University · NIH-11132596 · Data updated 2026-11-12
A gamified 'Two Truths & One Lie' campaign on Instagram and Snapchat designed to encourage healthier drinking habits among college students.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Loyola Marymount University NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Los Angeles, United States) |
| Project start | June 1, 2023 |
| Project end | May 31, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $170,881 |
| NIH project number | 5R34AA030139-03 |
| Project ID | NIH-11132596 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal participants are college students who use Instagram or Snapchat and drink alcohol or are exposed to peers' drinking content.
✕Less likely to help
People who are not college students, who do not use Instagram/Snapchat, or who need clinical treatment for severe alcohol use disorder may not benefit from this approach.
What this research studies
As a student you would see short, game-style posts on Instagram and Snapchat that challenge common assumptions about how much peers drink. The posts use targeted ads and game mechanics to give personalized normative feedback while keeping messages engaging and less likely to cause pushback. Researchers will measure who sees and interacts with the posts and ask brief surveys about drinking beliefs and recent alcohol use. The approach is campus-wide and intended to be low-burden compared with in-person or app-based programs.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this could lower risky drinking by changing what students think is normal on campus and reducing alcohol-related harms.
How similar studies have gone: Previous work using gamification and personalized normative feedback has shown promise for changing student drinking attitudes, but embedding a campus-wide norms game directly into Instagram and Snapchat is relatively new.
Where this research is happening
-
Loyola Marymount University
Los Angeles, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Labrie, Joseph W. — Loyola Marymount University
- Study coordinator: Labrie, Joseph W.
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.