Discrimination Without Intoxication: The Role of Controlled Processes in the Promotion of Racial Bias After Viewing Alcohol-Related Cues

Viewing alcohol-related cues (e.g., advertisements) is known to promote expressions of racial bias and aggression through the temporary promotion of reflexive or impulsive responding. However, this increased automaticity may be inhibited by thoughtful control of behavior. We examined the role of controlled processes in the suppression of racial bias following alcohol cue exposure across two experiments. Experiment 1 (N = 125) indicated reduced control of behavior promoted greater expressions of racial bias after viewing alcohol-related cues. Experiment 2 (N = 71) replicated these effects, suggesting individuals with lower neural indices of control, indexed by reduced amplitudes of the error-related negativity (ERN), similarly express greater racial bias after viewing alcohol-related cues. These findings replicate previous work suggesting alcohol-related cues promote impulsivity and application of negative racial stereotypes. Yet, whether this automaticity manifests into behavioral expressions of racial bias depends on the availability to engage self-control to inhibit these socially undesirable responses.

Feeling and Calculation: The Impact of Lay Rationalism Thinking Mode on Mental Budgeting

Mental budgeting is a cognitive process that helps individuals control consumption expenditures. Previous literature has shown that mental budgeting is influenced by people's cognitive capabilities and emotions, which indicates a potential influence of thinking modes on mental budgeting. Under the view of lay rationalism, the present three studies investigated the relationship between thinking modes (i.e., calculation-based thinking and feeling-based thinking) and mental budgeting, as well as the moderating effect of product types that participants consume. It was found that, first, the scores of lay rationalism, which indicate calculation-based thinking, were positively correlated with the mental budgeting levels of college students (Study 1a) and newcomers in the workplace (Study 1b); second, the activation of calculation-based thinking (vs. feeling-based thinking) decreased participants' consumption willingness (Study 2); and third, the calculation-based thinking exhibited a stronger binding effect in participants who consumed only hedonic products than in participants who consumed only utilitarian products (Study 2). The results demonstrated the effects of lay rationalism thinking mode and product types on mental budgeting, which highlighted different implications for consumers and merchants.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12144-022-03689-5.

Alcohol Priming and Attribution of Blame in an Acquaintance Rape Vignette

Research on nonpharmacological effects of alcohol shows that exposure to alcohol-related cues (i.e., alcohol priming) can increase behaviors associated with actual alcohol consumption. Attributions of responsibility to female victims in sexual assault scenarios are affected by whether or not alcohol was consumed by a victim and/or perpetrator. Victims often receive higher levels of blame if they consume alcohol prior to the assault. This work extends the research on nonpharmacological effects of alcohol into a novel domain of blame attribution toward rape victims. In two studies, participants in lab settings (Study 1; N = 184) and online (Study 2; N = 421) were primed with alcohol or neutral beverage advertisements as part of a purportedly separate ad-rating task and then were presented with a vignette depicting an acquaintance rape where the characters consumed beer or soda. Participants subsequently completed a questionnaire assessing victim blame and perpetrator blame. Across both studies, participants blamed the victim most when they were exposed to both contextual (story) and noncontextual (ads) alcohol cues; this effect was especially prominent in males in Study 1. Findings for perpetrator blame were inconsistent across studies. Implications of nonpharmacological effects of alcohol on blame attribution toward rape victims are discussed in the context of courtroom situations and bystander intervention.