Effects of alcohol and cognitive set on sexual arousal to deviant stimuli.

48 undergraduate male social drinkers were randomly assigned to 1 of 2 expectancy set conditions in which they were led to believe that the beverage they were administered contained alcohol or no alcohol. For half of the Ss in each expectancy condition, the beverage was an alcoholic malt liquor; the others drank a nonalcoholic malt beverage. After their drinks, changes in penile tumescence (PT) in response to normal and deviant tape recordings and to self-generated fantasy were measured physiologically by a mercury-in-rubber strain gauge. The cognitive set (expectancy) significantly increased PT in response to the various erotic recordings. Alcohol did not significantly influence levels of sexual arousal. Ss who believed they had consumed an alcoholic beverage evidenced significantly more arousal to the forcible rape recording and to the sadistic stimuli than Ss who believed that they had consumed a nonalcoholic beverage, regardless of the actual contents of the beverage. The cognitive set, as well as the alcohol, significantly influenced heart rate, skin temperature, and subjective reports of sexual arousal. Self-report measures of sexual arousal were positively correlated with PT. Mosher Forced-Choice Guilt Inventory scores were not significantly correlated with PT, although the Sex Guilt subscore was negatively correlated with the subjective measure of sexual arousal for the heterosexual intercourse and forcible rape tapes. (35 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The effects of alcohol and anger on interest in violence, erotica, and deviance.

Alcohol expectancy (expect alcohol vs expect tonic), alcohol content (receive alcohol vs receive tonic), and anger provocation (provoked vs unprovoked) were factorially crossed to investigate their influence on male interest in viewing 4 types of slides: neutral, erotic, violent, and violent-erotic. Ss were 64 male undergraduates. Ss' ad lib viewing times were unobtrusively measured. Alcohol expectancy emerged as the most potent of the manipulated variables, facilitating viewing times for the nonneutral slides and overriding the impact of alcohol content. This expectancy effect was more pronounced with the violent-erotic slides than with slides that were violent only. Within the violent-erotic slides, the expectancy effect was greater for a highly deviant subset of slides. Expect-alcohol Ss also reported more sexual arousal than did expect-tonic controls. Anger provocation increased verbal aggressiveness and reduced slide viewing. The role of cognitive processes in mediating alcohol effects on negatively sanctioned psychosocial behaviors is discussed. (27 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Expectancy, alcohol, and sex guilt as determinants of interest in and reaction to sexual stimuli.

Selected 72 male undergraduate social drinkers from high, moderate, and low scorers on the Sex Guilt subscale of the Mosher Forced-Choice Guilt Scale. Ss were assigned to 1 of 4 conditions in a balanced-placebo design utilized to control for psychological as well as physiological factors determining the effects of drinking on behavior. After consuming beverages, Ss viewed and evaluated photographic slides of erotic content and then reported on their sexual arousal. The time Ss spent viewing each slide was unobtrusively recorded. Overall, greater sexual arousal was indicated by Ss who thought they had received alcoholic beverages, regardless of actual drink content. In all conditions except the high sex guilt/expect tonic groups, viewing times increased as a positive linear function of pornography ratings of the slides. Results demonstrate that psychological aspects of individual differences can mediate expectancy effects in research on alcohol and social behavior. (22 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of alcohol on aggression in male social drinkers.

Assigned 96 male undergraduates to 1 of 8 groups in a 2 * 2 * 2 factorial design. To control fully for expectation effects, 48 Ss were led to believe that they would be drinking alcohol (vodka and tonic), and 48 believed they would be drinking only tonic water. Within each of these 2 groups, 24 Ss actually received alcohol, but 24 were given only tonic. Following the beverage administration, 48 Ss were provoked to aggress by exposing them to an insulting confederate, whereas control Ss experienced a neutral interaction. Aggression was assessed by the intensity and duration of shocks administered to the confederate on a modified version of A. H. Buss's aggression apparatus. The only significant determinant of aggression was the expectation factor: Ss who believed they had consumed alcohol were more aggressive than Ss who believed they had consumed a nonalcoholic beverage, regardless of the actual alcohol content of the drinks. Ss receiving alcohol, however, showed a significant increase in a reaction time measure, regardless of the expectation condition. Provocation to aggress was also a significant determinant of aggression, but it did not interact with the beverage conditions. (31 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A controlled trial of cue exposure treatment in alcohol dependence.

The clinical effectiveness of cue exposure (CE) treatment in alcohol dependence was evaluated in a controlled trial. 35 men who were detoxified and severely alcohol dependent received either CE or relaxation control (RC) treatment. CE Ss had 400 min exposure to the sight and smell of preferred drinks over 10 days in a laboratory setting. RC Ss spent identical time in the laboratory but had relaxation therapy and only 20 min exposure to alcohol cues. During 6-mo follow-up, personal interview was achieved with 91% of Ss. CE Ss had a more favorable outcome than the RC Ss in terms of latency (length of time) to relapse of heavy drinking (p?     

Alcohol and the balanced-placebo design: The role of experimenter demands in expectancy.

Tested the hypothesis that Ss who were debriefed so that experimenter demands were withdrawn would report beverage content and level of intoxication more accurately than Ss treated as usual in a balanced-placebo experiment. 48 male university students were randomly assigned to 1 of the 4 usual groups: told alcohol/received alcohol (.79 ml/kg), told alcohol/received no alcohol, told no alcohol/received alcohol, and told no alcohol/received no alcohol. Ss were told that the data file containing their actual group allocation and previous reports was lost owing to computer breakdown, and thus the experiment did not know which beverage they had drunk. The initial manipulation check revealed a greater effect of expectancy, but the later check revealed a larger effect of drink content. Only 8 of 24 Ss were successfully deceived. Conclusions derived from past studies and the use of the balanced-placebo design in the area of alcohol and expectancies are challenged, although the challenge may be restricted to the use of the design with relatively high doses of alcohol. (15 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Expectancies, alcohol, and sexual arousal in women.

A total of 40 university female volunteers, all social drinkers aged 18–35 yrs, were randomly assigned to 1 of 2 expectancy conditions in which they were led to believe that the beverage they were administered contained either vodka and tonic or tonic only. For half the Ss in each expectancy condition, the beverage actually contained vodka; for the other half, tonic only. After their drinks, measures of vaginal pressure pulse obtained with a vaginal photoplethysmograph were recorded during a nonerotic control film and 2 erotic films depicting a heterosexual or a homosexual interaction. The 2 groups that received alcohol, regardless of whether they believed that their drinks contained alcohol, showed significantly reduced sexual arousal during both erotic films. No effects of expectancy or an interaction between alcohol and expectancy were obtained. Ss' subjective estimates of intoxication were significantly correlated with their self-report of sexual arousal during both erotic films. The differences between these results and previous findings using similar procedures with male social drinkers are discussed. (31 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Self-consciousness, self-esteem, and success–failure as determinants of alcohol consumption in male social drinkers.

Tested the proposition that alcohol is consumed as a function of the quality of past performances and of the individual's level of private self-consciousness. 120 adult male Ss were randomly given success or failure feedback on an intellectual task. They then participated in a separate "wine-tasting" experiment in which they were allowed to regulate alcohol consumption. As predicted, high self-conscious Ss who had received failure feedback drank significantly more than did high self-conscious Ss who received success feedback. Consumption by low self-conscious Ss fell between these extremes and did not vary as a function of success and failure. Ss' scores on the Multiple Affect Adjective Check List indicated that these results were mediated by differential sensitivity to the positive or negative implications of success/failure by high and low self-conscious Ss. (38 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Provocation to anger and opportunity for retaliation as determinants of alcohol consumption in social drinkers.

Assigned 30 male and 30 female college students identified as heavy social drinkers to 1 of 6 groups in a 3 * 2 factorial design. In addition to the S sex factor, the 3 main treatment groups were provocation to anger with no opportunity to retaliate, provocation with opportunity for retaliation, and a no-provocation, no-retaliation control group. Provoked Ss were angered by an insulting confederate, whereas controls experienced a neutral interaction with the confederate. In the retaliation condition, Ss were given the opportunity to deliver a fixed number of shocks to the confederate who had provoked them. Drinking rates in all Ss were then determined by their participation in a standardized taste-rating task, which permitted an unobtrusive measure of alcohol consumption. Results show that group members who were provoked and expressed their anger by retaliating against the confederate consumed significantly less alcohol than provoked Ss in the no-retaliation condition. Controls drank an intermediate amount of alcohol but did not differ significantly from the other 2 groups. Sex was not a significant determinant of alcohol consumption. (16 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effect of work sample test upon self-selection and turnover of job applicants.

Hypothesized that job applicants who were administered a pre-employment work sample test and who, consequently, had a more accurate expectancy about task requirements would have a higher job refusal rate and a lower voluntary turnover rate than applicants not administered the work sample test. Ss were 67 white and 93 black female applicants for the job of sewing machine operator. Some support for the hypotheses was found for white Ss but not for black Ss. Racial differences are explained in terms of the differential importance of factors in the work situation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Expectancy and pharmacological effects of alcohol on human cognitive and motor performance: The compensation for alcohol effect.

42 male undergraduate social drinkers were led to expect either alcohol or tonic. After actually consuming no alcohol, a low dosage, or a moderate dosage, they performed various cognitive and motor tasks. A questionnaire assessed Ss' responses to the expectancy manipulation and either preceded or followed task administration. A 2?×?3?×?2 MANOVA resulted in a significant Expectancy?×?Dosage interaction for cognitive tasks (letter cancellation, digit span, Raven Progressive Matrices). Ss apparently compensated for alcohol-induced deterioration on these tasks when they were aware they had consumed alcohol. No consistent effects were found for motor tasks (finger tapping, stylus monitoring, standing steadiness, and walking steadiness). (9 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The impact of alcohol and alcohol expectancies on male perception of female sexual arousal in a date rape analog.

The impact of alcohol and alcohol expectancies on men's perception of female sexual arousal and men's ability to discriminate accurately female sexual intentions in a dating situation was examined. In a 2 (alcohol)?×?2 (expectancy) balanced placebo design, men were exposed to an audiotape of a date rape and asked to signal when the man should stop making sexual advances. On 4 occasions during the vignette, participants rated how sexually aroused the woman on the tape was at that moment. Relative to controls, participants who consumed alcohol or expected to consume alcohol took significantly longer to identify the inappropriateness of the man's sexual behavior toward his date. Similarly, alcohol participants also rated the woman's sexual arousal level significantly higher at the first 2 refusals. Implications of the results are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of alcohol and expectancy set on male sexual arousal.

Assigned 48 undergraduate males to 8 experimental groups. The 6 Ss within each group received 1 of 4 dose levels (.08, .4, .8, or 1.2 g/kg body weight) of beverage alcohol and 1 of 2 different sets of expectancy instructions regarding sexual arousal. Changes in penile tumescence, in response to an erotic film, were measured physiologically by a mercury-in-rubber strain gauge. Muscle tension levels were also monitored during the film viewing. The following adjunctive measures of sexual arousal were also employed: (a) sexual imagery, (b) the subjective report of arousal, and (c) the estimation of the extent of penile erection. Alcohol significantly reduced the levels of penile tumescence (negative linear relation). The expectancy instructions regarding alcohol's effect did not significantly influence the penile response. Sexual imagery was negatively correlated with penile tumescence, whereas the subjective reports of sexual arousal and the estimations of penile erection were positively correlated with the physiological measure of sexual arousal. Muscle tension levels were not significantly influenced by alcohol or the expectancy set; neither was muscle tension correlated with penile tumescence. (20 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Social determinants of alcohol consumption: The effects of social interaction and model status on the self-administration of alcohol.

Conducted 2 studies with 106 male undergraduates to assess variables related to the social determinants of alcohol consumption. In Study 1, 51 moderate- and heavy-drinking Ss were paired with confederates who behaved in a sociable or unsociable manner while modeling either light or heavy consumption during a 30-min drinking period in a simulated cocktail lounge. It was found that modeling occurred in the sociable conditions but not in the unsociable conditions, where Ss tended to drink heavily. In Study 2, 54 Ss were exposed to 1 of 3 social status conditions crossed with light vs heavy consumption in a 40-min drinking period in the same setting. Results indicate a modeling effect in all social status conditions. Findings support the existence of a modeling effect that can be disrupted by a lack of rapport between drinking partners. Implications for this etiology of problem drinking are considered that are based on the notion that increased alcohol consumption may serve as a strategy for coping with aversive social interactions. (22 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Self-awareness-reducing effects of alcohol consumption.

Three experiments with 180 males examined the effects of alcohol consumption on the self-aware state. Based on a model proposed by J. G. Hull (see record 1982-05684-001), it was predicted that alcohol would reduce self-awareness. In Exp I, Ss consumed either alcohol or tonic and then gave short speeches about themselves. All Ss expected to consume alcohol. The speeches were coded for frequency of self-focused statements. In support of predictions, alcohol reduced the relative frequency of self-focused statements. Exp II replicated this finding and demonstrated that it did not depend on Ss' expectancies regarding the beverage they consumed. Exp III investigated a potential mechanism for these effects. Alcohol was proposed to reduce self-awareness by interfering with the encoding of self-relevant information. Using an incidental-memory paradigm, it was found that high-private self-conscious Ss recalled more self-relevant words than did low-self-conscious Ss under placebo conditions, thus replicating the findings of Hull and A. S. Levy (see record 1980-27166-001). (32 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Expectancies versus background in the prediction of college drinking patterns.

Examined the alcohol expectancies of 321 17–40 yr old undergraduates as a function of Ss' drinking patterns and Ss' expectancies to demographic/background variables for their ability to predict problematic and nonproblematic drinking patterns. Ss completed a demographic data sheet, alcohol expectancy questionnaire, and customary drinking record. Factor analysis of Ss' self-reported drinking yielded 3 drinking styles: nonproblematic social drinking, frequent drinking with alcohol-related problems, and contextually determined alcohol consumption. Optimal alcohol expectancy and demographic/background predictors of each drinking style were selected and compared via multiple regression procedures. Predictor equation efficiency was then examined in a new cross-validation sample of 176 Ss. Results indicate that alcohol expectancies increased the predictability of college drinking patterns and that alcohol expectancies were differentially related to problematic and nonproblematic features of college drinking. (12 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of alcohol and expectancies on verbal aggression in men and women.

In Exp I, 48 male and 48 female heavy social-drinking undergraduates were assigned to beverage (vodka [.75 ml/kg] and tonic or only tonic) and beverage-expectancy (alcohol or tonic) conditions. Ss were provoked by a confederate's unfavorable evaluation and allowed to retaliate. In Exp II, Exp I was repeated using 44 males and 45 females and higher doses of ethanol (1.12 and 1.10 ml/kg, respectively, for males and females). In Exp III, an experimenter criticized 62 male drinkers (.9 ml/kg ethanol) who later evaluated the experimenter's job performance on a questionnaire for his employer. Results show that for Ss at higher doses and males at the lower dose, those expecting alcohol were significantly less aggressive and at higher doses felt happier than did Ss expecting only tonic. Actual alcohol consumption increased aggression only for females at the lower doses. It is concluded that alcohol by its pharmacologic action alone does not necessarily increase aggression at either a low or a moderately high dose. It is suggested that many of the reinforcements of alcohol use are due to the drinkers' cognition rather than the pharmacologic action of alcohol itself. (43 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Perceptions of alcohol misuse and work behavior among professionals: Identification and intervention.

Examined the prevalence and effects of alcohol misuse and mental health problems on work behavior among 507 members (mean age 44.3 yrs) of the American Psychological Association (APA) who completed the Needs Assessment Survey (P. E. Nathan et al [1983]). Results indicate that at least one-third of the Ss knew of colleagues who misused alcohol on the basis of fairly overt signs of impairment. Only a select few of the Ss (n?=?61) confronted colleagues about their alcohol misuse; those confronters tended to be older men who saw clients with alcohol problems. In contrast, more Ss confronted colleagues about their mental health problems (n?=?182) and had better treatment outcomes. Considering the ambivalence of psychologists to confront colleague alcohol misuse in the presence of job-related detriment, use of the employee assistance program model of confrontation on demonstrable evidence of job decline seems appropriate. The roles of professional self-help organizations such as Psychologists Helping Psychologists in facilitating recovery of alcohol misusing psychologists and of APA in assisting psychologists in distress are discussed. (51 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Unemployment and depressive affect: A motivational and attributional analysis.

Hypothesized on the basis of expectancy/valence theory that the negative affect that follows failure to obtain employment will be stronger among those individuals who are more strongly motivated to seek employment than among those who are less motivated. This hypothesis was tested by administering a questionnaire to 212 unemployed youth (mean age 19.76 yrs). Consistent with the hypothesis, results show that Ss who indicated in their ratings that they were highly motivated to get a job also provided higher ratings of depressive affect. Those Ss with higher levels of depressive affect were less likely to blame themselves for their unemployment and more likely to blame external difficulties, such as the current economic situation. They also provided higher ratings of the valence or perceived attractiveness of work itself. Their retrospective ratings concerning how confident they were of getting a job on leaving school and how much they needed and tried for a job also tended to be higher than those of the less depressed Ss. Results are discussed in relation to the expectancy/valence approach, A. T. Beck's (1967, 1976, 1979) theory of depression, helplessness theory of depression, and recent discussions of cognitive–affect linkages that employ attribution concepts. (47 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Universal versus personal helplessness in depression: Belief in uncontrollability or incompetence?

The learned helplessness model of depression predicts that depressed individuals believe outcomes are more response independent than do nondepressed individuals in a skill situation. The present study assessed whether depressives' cognitive distortions are specific to their belief about their own skilled action or are a result of a general belief in uncontrollability in the world. Changes in expectancies following success and failure in skill and chance tasks were examined in 32 depressed and 32 nondepressed college students who either performed themselves or observed a confederate perform a pair of tasks. In the skill task, depressed Ss showed significantly smaller changes in expectancy than nondepressed Ss when estimating the probability of their own success. In contrast, depressed and nondepressed Ss did not differ when estimating the probability of another person's success on the identical skill task. It is inferred that depressed individuals view themselves as helpless in a skilled situation but do not view the situation itself as uncontrollable. Results are discussed in terms of the reformulated learned helplessness model. (52 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)