Alcohol primes, expectancies, and the working self-concept.

Previous research has shown that alcohol consumption can lead to momentary changes in the self-concept (e.g., Steele & Josephs, 1990). In two studies (n = 150), we examined whether the implicit activation of alcohol expectancies (i.e., sociability-related expectancies) would also lead to changes in self-perception. To test this idea, participants first completed a measure of sociability-related alcohol expectancies. In a subsequent laboratory session, participants were exposed to either alcohol-related primes (i.e., pictures or words associated with alcohol) or neutral primes. After the priming task, participants completed an ostensibly unrelated self-concept survey that contained words related to sociability (e.g., “outgoing”) and nonsociability related words (e.g., “clever”). For both studies, results revealed that sociability-related alcohol expectancies were positively associated with sociability-related self-concept ratings for participants exposed to alcohol primes, but not for participants exposed to the neutral primes. Implications for the role implicit self-concept activation may have on drinking behaviors are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Client–psychotherapist seminars for refining theory and practice.

Recommends the establishment of regular client–therapist seminars during which therapists can discuss and refine the theoretical and operational assumptions underlying the type of psychotherapy they have adopted. Such discussions can lead to a number of concrete benefits, including the initiation of research to test the validity of theoretical assumptions. It is suggested that these seminars especially can be a boon to those psychotherapists who find their professional growth stagnating and their enthusiasm for therapy on the wane. The author's experiences in establishing and conducting client–therapist seminars are discussed and include such particulars as protecting the confidentiality of the participants. (12 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Body mass index and alcohol consumption: Family history of alcoholism as a moderator.

Recent research suggests that excess food consumption may be conceptualized as an addictive behavior. Much of the evidence comes from neurobiological similarities between drug and food consumption. In addition, an inverse relation between alcohol consumption and body mass index (BMI) has been observed. Previous research has hypothesized that this inverse relation is attributable to competition between food and alcohol for similar neurotransmitter receptors. The current study explored this neurobiological hypothesis further by examining the influence of an indicator of biological risk associated with alcohol problems (family history of alcoholism) on the relationship between alcohol and food intake. Data from 37,259 participants in the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC) were included in the study. BMI, family history of alcoholism, gender, and race/ethnicity were assessed as predictors of typical drinking frequency and estimated blood alcohol concentration (BAC). An inverse relationship between alcohol consumption and BMI was demonstrated. An attenuation of family history effects on drinking behavior was evident for obese compared to nonobese participants. The results suggest a neurobiological link between alcohol use and food consumption, consistent with theories characterizing excess food consumption as an addictive behavior. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Specificity of P3 event-related potential reactivity to alcohol cues in individuals low in alcohol sensitivity.

Recent research using event-related potentials (ERPs) has shown that individuals low in alcohol sensitivity show increased P3 reactivity to alcohol cues (Bartholow, Henry, & Lust, 2007). The current research sought to test the specificity of this effect by including other arousing cues in addition to alcohol, and by controlling for individual differences in trait impulsivity. Forty-seven participants varying in self-reported alcohol sensitivity completed a visual oddball task including neutral, arousing (erotic and adventure-related), and beverage-related images while ERPs were recorded. Low-sensitivity participants showed increased P3 reactivity to alcohol cues relative to their high-sensitivity peers. However, P3 amplitude elicited by all other targets did not differ as a function of alcohol sensitivity levels. Differences in impulsivity and recent alcohol consumption did not account for sensitivity group differences in alcohol cue reactivity. These results point to the specific motivational salience of alcohol cues to individuals at risk for alcohol problems because of low alcohol sensitivity and suggest that P3 reactivity to alcohol cues could be a new endophenotype for alcohol use disorder risk. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Extension of the simulated drinking game procedure to multiple drinking games.

The present study extended the Simulated Drinking Game Procedure (SDGP) to obtain information about different types of drinking games. Phase I participants (N = 545) completed online screening questionnaires assessing substance use and drinking game participation. Participants who met the selection criteria for Phase II (N = 92) participated in laboratory sessions that consisted of three different periods of drinking game play. Sixty-two percent (N = 57) of the sample was female. Data from these sessions was used to estimate the peak Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) a participant would achieve if they consumed alcohol while participating in the SDGP. Total consumption and estimated BAC varied as a function of game type. The total consumption and estimated BAC obtained while playing Beer Pong and Memory varied significantly as a function of group. Total ounces consumed while playing Three Man varied significantly as a function of group; however, the variation in estimated BAC obtained while playing Three Man was not significant. Results indicated that estimated BACs were higher for female participants across game type. Previous experience playing the three drinking games had no impact on total drink consumption or estimated BAC obtained while participating in the SDGP. The present study demonstrated that the SDGP can be used to generate estimates of how much alcohol is consumed and the associated obtained BAC during multiple types of drinking games. In order to fully examine whether previous experience factors in to overall alcohol consumption and BAC, future research should extend the SDGP to incorporate laboratory administration of alcohol during drinking game participation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Risks of alcohol consumption in laboratory studies involving human research participants.

Research protocols that include alcohol consumption raise a number of critical issues with regard to potential risks to research participants, researchers, and institutions. This article seeks to highlight some of these issues by presenting some of the potential risks and discussing relevant dimensions and parameters of these risks. Risks to individual research participants are the primary focus of concern, but consideration of risks associated with aspects of the experimental, contextual, and institutional setting are also considered. The authors conclude with recommendations for individuals conducting studies involving alcohol consumption by human research participants. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The necessities and luxuries of mate preferences: Testing the tradeoffs.

Social exchange and evolutionary models of mate selection incorporate economic assumptions but have not considered a key distinction between necessities and luxuries. This distinction can clarify an apparent paradox: Status and attractiveness, though emphasized by many researchers, are not typically rated highly by research participants. Three studies supported the hypothesis that women and men first ensure sufficient levels of necessities in potential mates before considering many other characteristics rated as more important in prior surveys. In Studies 1 and 2, participants designed ideal long-term mates, purchasing various characteristics with 3 different budgets. Study 3 used a mate-screening paradigm and showed that people inquire 1st about hypothesized necessities. Physical attractiveness was a necessity to men, status and resources were necessities to women, and kindness and intelligence were necessities to both. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Choice and self-expression: A cultural analysis of variety-seeking.

Three studies examined whether the tendency to seek variety in choices depends in part on cultural assumptions of choice and uniqueness. Study 1 showed that people from different cultures where different assumptions of choice and uniqueness dominate show different levels of variety in their choice rule use. Study 2 primed participants with magazine ads highlighting different representations of uniqueness dominant in individualist versus collectivist cultures to show the influence of cultural meanings of uniqueness on the variety-seeking tendency. Study 3 manipulated the motivation to display to demonstrate that variety-seeking in the United States partly hinges on cultural meanings of as self-expression. Variety-seeking in choice rule use was eliminated when participants had the chance to self-express through choice listing. The research illustrates the role of cultural assumptions in the variety-seeking tendency. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The human startle reflex and alcohol cue reactivity: Effects of early versus late abstinence.

This study investigated the human eyeblink startle reflex as a measure of alcohol cue reactivity. Alcohol-dependent participants early (n?=?36) and late (n?=?34) in abstinence received presentations of alcohol and water cues. Consistent with previous research, greater salivation and higher ratings of urge to drink occurred in response to the alcohol cues. Differential salivary and urge responding to alcohol versus water cues did not vary as a function of abstinence duration. Of special interest was the finding that startle response magnitudes were relatively elevated to alcohol cues, but only in individuals early in abstinence. Affective ratings of alcohol cues suggested that alcohol cues were perceived as aversive. Methodological and theoretical implications of the findings are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Development of a simulated drinking game procedure to study risky alcohol use.

The aim of the current study was to initiate and describe the development of a Simulated Drinking Game Procedure (SDGP), a safe, efficient, and alcohol-free laboratory protocol for studying drinking game behavior. Fifty-two undergraduates completed the SDGP in a laboratory session, where participants played singles and/or doubles games of Beer Pong. Water was substituted for alcohol in all of the games. The number of drinks consumed during matches and 20-min play periods were coded during each session, and software was used to estimate the peak blood alcohol concentration (BAC) a participant would achieve if he or she had consumed actual alcohol while participating in the SDGP. Results indicated that participation in Beer Pong can lead to rapid consumption of alcohol and an associated rise in BAC. Results also highlight additional risks for female participants associated with participation in drinking games. The SDGP is a research tool capable of increasing our understanding of drinking games. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of The diagnosis and treatment of alcoholism (second edition).

Reviews the book, The diagnosis and treatment of alcoholism (second edition) edited by Jack H. Mendelson and Nancy K. Mello (1985). This text is designed to be an authoritative handbook for practitioners in the field of alcohol abuse or a comprehensive textbook for graduate students. The target audience is physicians, nurses, psychologists, alcoholism counselors, social workers, and others involved in assessing and treating alcohol abuse. One way in which this text differs from many on the market is in its reliance on methodologically sound research as the basis for the recommendations and conclusions in most of the chapters, including objective discussions of controversial issues where the research data challenge commonly accepted assumptions in the alcohol field. The second edition of this volume provides valuable updating and expansion of the information presented in the widely used first edition. Overall, the second edition of this volume remains a leader in the field and will be valuable as a handbook for the clinician or textbook for the graduate seminar. The strengths of this volume are in the chapters that rely on a thorough knowledge of methodologically sound research, presented in a way that will be acceptable to clinical practitioners. Paraprofessionals may find this hard to read but advanced professionals will find the text useful. This edition remains superior to any other single resource which I can think of in the field. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Group status and reciprocity norms: Can the door-in-the-face effect be obtained in an out-group context?

The psychological underpinnings of the door-in-the-face (DITF) effect are examined in 2 experiments. The research contrasts the traditional reciprocal concessions interpretation of the effect with arguments based on social identity and perceptual contrast. Study 1 replicated the DITF effect in contemporary France and clarified earlier methodological ambiguities to rule out an explanation based on perceptual contrast. Study 2 manipulated the traditional DITF variables along with the in-group–out-group status of the petitioner and suggested that the effects of earlier research were enhanced by participants’ presumption of the petitioner’s in-group status. These experiments demonstrate that both reciprocal concessions and in-group bias operate as additive factors in producing the DITF effect and that the original research probably profited from participants’ implicit assumptions of common identity while supporting the hypothesis of some universal norm for reciprocal concessions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The DRD4 VNTR polymorphism moderates craving after alcohol consumption.

Recent research has suggested that alterations in mesolimbic dopamine neurotransmission are central to the development and expression of craving for alcohol. Because the D? dopamine receptor gene, variable numbers of tandem repeats (DRD4 VNTR) polymorphism putatively expresses functional differences in dopamine receptors, the present study tested whether this polymorphism influences the effects of a priming dose of alcohol on craving. Participants consumed 3 alcoholic drinks or 3 control drinks and completed measures of craving after each drink. Participants who were homozygous or heterozygous for the 7 (or longer) repeat allele were classified as DRD4 L, whereas the other participants were classified as DRD4 S. Results suggested that DRD4 L participants demonstrated significantly higher craving after consumption of alcohol as compared with the control beverage. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Comparison of participatively set and assigned goals in the reduction of alcohol use.

The effects of setting goals on goal commitment, self-efficacy for goal achievement, and goal achievement in the context of an alcohol use intervention were examined using an experimental design in which participants were randomized to participatively set goals, assigned goals, and no goal conditions. One hundred and twenty-six heavy-drinking college students received a single cognitive-behavioral assessment/intervention session and completed measures of goal commitment, self-efficacy for goal achievement, and alcohol use. Results were consistent with, and expanded upon, previous research by demonstrating that having a goal for limiting alcohol consumption was predictive of lower quantity and frequency of alcohol use relative to not having a goal. Participation in goal setting yielded greater goal commitment and self-efficacy for goal achievement than assigned goals, but did not result in significantly greater reductions in alcohol use relative to assigned goals. Goal commitment and self-efficacy explained unique variance in the prediction of alcohol use at follow-up. Findings support the importance of goal setting in alcohol interventions and suggest areas for further research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of alcohol intoxication on social inferences.

The theory of "alcohol myopia" (C. M. Steele & R. A. Josephs, 1990) suggests that an intoxicated person is disproportionately influenced by immediate, superficial aspects of experience and that effortful, controlled cognitive processing is impaired. The present research examined the effects of alcohol intoxication on social inferences, which refer to perceived reasons, causes, and explanations of events. When asked to focus on the dispositions of others, intoxicated participants tended to exaggerate the extent to which dispositions were influencing behaviors. When asked to focus on the situational conditions in which a behavior took place, intoxicated participants tended to exaggerate the importance of situational influences. The results are consistent with both recent models of social inference and the theory of alcohol myopia. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A controlled trial of psychodynamic psychotherapy for co-occurring borderline personality disorder and alcohol use disorder.

A randomized controlled trial was conducted to determine whether a manual-based psychodynamic treatment, labeled dynamic deconstructive psychotherapy (DDP), would be feasible and effective for individuals with co-occurring borderline personality disorder (BPD) and alcohol use disorder. Thirty participants were assessed every 3 months during a year of treatment with either DDP or treatment as usual (TAU) in the community. DDP participants showed statistically significant improvement in parasuicide behavior, alcohol misuse, institutional care, depression, dissociation, and core symptoms of BPD, and treatment retention was 67% to 73%. Although TAU participants received higher average treatment intensity, they showed only limited change during the same period. The results support the feasibility, tolerability, and efficacy of DDP for the co-occurring subgroup and highlight the need for further research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Bidding on the future: Evidence against normative discounting of delayed rewards.

Normative economic models assume that delay-discounting rates for future rewards are independent of the amount of, and delay to, a reward. These assumptions were tested in 3 experiments in which participants were asked to bid their own money on delayed monetary rewards in a sealed, second-bid auction. In Experiments 1 and 2, participants made their bids without feedback about the bids of other participants. In Experiment 3, half of the participants received such feedback. In Experiments 2 and 3, participants adjusted their bids until they were indifferent between the bid and the delayed reward. Participants' bids violated both normative assumptions: Discounting rates decreased with increases in amount for 62 of 67 participants, and a function in which the rate decreases with increases in delay (hyperbolic) fit the bids better than did a normative function (exponential) for 59 of 67 participants. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Alcoholics' perceptions of cues to intoxication

This study examined whether alcoholic participants perceive cues to self-judgment of intoxication along the internal-external dichotomy used in the research literature on blood alcohol level discrimination. Twenty-eight participants diagnosed as alcohol dependent participated. Participants rated the perceived similarity of pairs of 18 cues to intoxication. Cluster analysis indicated that participants' ratings formed four clusters: disinhibition, relaxation, impairment, and external cues. These clusters provide some support for the internal-external dichotomy used in previous research.