In recent years, alcohol researchers have increasingly begun to conceptualize alcohol outcome expectancies- beliefs regarding the behavioral changes presumed to result from alcohol consumption- as mental representations in long-term memory. Consistent with this information processing approach, it has been demonstrated that alcohol expectancies may be cognitively primed via exposure to alcohol-related stimuli and in turn impact consumptive as well as non-consumptive behavior. Building upon these findings, the proposed project is aimed at investigating the cognitive and behavioral effects of exposure to cues related to the expected outcomes of drinking (e.g., increased sociability, enhanced mood). On the basis of contemporary social-cognitive theorizing, it is predicted that such alcohol outcome cues should: a) increase the accessibility of alcohol-related mental representations in long-term memory;b) promote visual attention to alcohol-related stimuli;and, c) facilitate ad libitum alcohol consumption among individuals with stronger alcohol expectancies regarding the particular outcomes cued. Three studies are proposed to test each of these hypotheses, respectively: In Experiment 1, participants in whom alcohol expectancies pertaining to both sociability and mood enhancement have been measured, will be exposed to outcome-related words pertaining either to increased sociability (e.g., """"""""friendly"""""""") or enhanced mood (e.g., """"""""cheerful""""""""). Afterward, the cognitive accessibility (i.e., activation potential) of words related to alcohol (e.g., """"""""beer"""""""") will be assessed by comparing speeded pronunciation time for these target words to that for control words. In Experiment 2, participants will again be exposed to either sociability-related or mood enhancement-related cues, but will then be presented with a series of images, including selected photos of alcoholic beverages (alcohol target condition) or non- alcoholic beverages (control target condition). During free viewing of these images, participants'eye movements will be tracked using a computerized remote optics camera, enabling direct assessment of the extent and pattern of their visual attention to alcohol-related versus control stimuli. Finally, in Experiment 3, following exposure to alcohol outcome cues, participants will be allowed to freely drink either beer or juice in an ostensibly separate context, permitting assessment of the influence of outcome-related priming on ad libitum alcohol consumption. If predictions are borne out empirically, the results of this interdisciplinary project stand to cast new light upon the manner in which situational cues impact both alcohol-related cognitive processing as well as alcohol consumption, thereby enabling formulation of more comprehensive interventions against alcohol abuse.
This project is designed to test whether exposure to cues associated with expected outcomes of drinking alcohol (increased sociability, mood enhancement) subtly influence individuals'thoughts about, attention to, and consumption of alcohol. Study 1 will test whether cues associated with sociability or enhanced mood increase the accessibility of alcohol-related thoughts, Study 2 will test whether these cues increase attention to alcohol-related images, and Study 3 will test whether these cues increase the amount of alcohol consumed in a laboratory setting. Results of these studies will advance understanding of how situational cues facilitate alcohol consumption and will help improve and target interventions focused on reducing motivation to engage in heavy alcohol use.
| Hicks, Joshua A; Friedman, Ronald S; Gable, Philip A et al. (2012) Interactive effects of approach motivational intensity and alcohol cues on the scope of perceptual attention. Addiction 107:1074-80 |
| Friedman, Ronald S; Forster, Jens (2010) Implicit affective cues and attentional tuning: an integrative review. Psychol Bull 136:875-93 |
