A short fuse after alcohol: Implicit power associations predict aggressiveness after alcohol consumption in young heavy drinkers with limited executive control

Associations of Implicit and Explicit Sexual Double Standard Endorsement and Sexual Assertiveness with Sexual and Interactional Competence in Emerging Adults

In this study, among emerging adults, we investigated the interrelationships of explicit and implicit measures of sexual assertiveness (SA) and sexual double standard endorsement (SDS) on the one hand, and different aspects of sexual and interactional competence (SAIC) on the other hand, using Partial Least Squares Path Modeling (PLS-PM) of cross-sectional data. Participants were 159 sexually active, heterosexual individuals in the Netherlands between 18 and 25 years. No exclusion criteria were used. The Sexual Competence and Interaction Competence in Youth and lifetime number of sexual partners were used to measure SAIC. Explicit SA was measured using the Hurlbert Index of Sexual Assertiveness, while Explicit SDS was assessed using the Scale for the Assessment of Sexual Standards in Youth. Two implicit association tests were performed to measure implicit SA and SDS. Participants accessed these computerized reaction time tasks via a secure online data collection platform. Results showed a strong association between the latent factors of sexual attitudes and SAIC. Greater SA and lower SDS were associated with a greater competence level. No gender effects were found.

Using facial expressions instead of response keys in the implicit association test

Previous research found that when people are instructed to smile toward liked objects and show negative facial expressions toward disliked objects, their facial response is faster and more intense than when they are required to smile toward disliked objects and express negative facial response toward liked objects. The present research tested a technologically innovative indirect evaluation measure that was based on that finding. Participants completed an implicit association test (IAT)-a common indirect measure of evaluation, responding with their emotional facial expressions, rather than by pressing response keys. In two web studies, using emotional facial expression detection through a webcam, we found that the Facial Response IAT (FR-IAT) is a reliable and valid measure of evaluations, comparable to the keyboard IAT. Because facial responses provide more information than key responses, pursuing future improvements of the FR-IAT's methodology, software, and data analysis is a promising direction for enhancing the quality of indirect evaluation measurement. The same methodology and technology may also enhance other indirect measures of evaluation and cognitive tests related to emotion and judgment.

Top-down and bottom-up attentional biases for smoking-related stimuli: Comparing dependent and non-dependent smokers

INTRODUCTION

Substance use causes attentional biases for substance-related stimuli. Both bottom-up (preferential processing) and top-down (inhibitory control) processes are involved in attentional biases. We explored these aspects of attentional bias by using dependent and non-dependent cigarette smokers in order to see whether these two groups would differ in terms of general inhibitory control, bottom-up attentional bias, and top-down attentional biases. This enables us to see whether consumption behaviour would affect these cognitive responses to smoking-related stimuli.

METHODS

Smokers were categorised as either dependent (N = 26) or non-dependent (N = 34) smokers. A further group of non-smokers (N = 32) were recruited to act as controls. Participants then completed a behavioural inhibition task with general stimuli, a smoking-related eye tracking version of the dot-probe task, and an eye-tracking inhibition task with smoking-related stimuli.

RESULTS

Results indicated that dependent smokers had decreased inhibition and increased attentional bias for smoking-related stimuli (and not control stimuli). By contrast, a decreased inhibition for smoking-related stimuli (in comparison to control stimuli) was not observed for non-dependent smokers.

CONCLUSIONS

Preferential processing of substance-related stimuli may indicate usage of a substance, whereas poor inhibitory control for substance-related stimuli may only emerge if dependence develops. The results suggest that how people engage with substance abuse is important for top-down attentional biases.

The concept of akrasia as the foundation for a dual systems theory of addiction

The aim of this article is to argue that the ancient concept of akrasia can serve as the conceptual foundation and theoretical justification for a dual systems theory of addiction. Akrasia refers to acting against one's better judgement and thus to behaviour that agents know is bad for them and have previously resolved to abjure, addiction being seen as an extreme form of akrasia. In this way akrasia can provide the basis for accounts of addictive behaviour that stress its inconsistency over time and the great difficulty addicts experience in changing it. A definition of addiction consistent with this view is offered and defended, and some of its general advantages for understanding and responding to addiction described. A consequence of defining addiction in this way is that it should be seen as a disorder of choice or, alternatively, of self-regulation, and reasons are given why the latter term should be preferred. It is then proposed that the concept of akrasia and the perspective on addiction that follows from it lead logically to the need for a dual systems theory of addiction. Although no such theory is presented here, terminological issues are clarified, criticisms of dual systems theories are noted, and a rudimentary description of what an integrated dual systems theory of addiction might look like is provided.

Dual effects of self-focused and other-focused power on sexual harassment intentions

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine two forms of power construal – self-focused and other-focused power – on effects of increasing or decreasing sex-based harassment (SBH) tendencies through feeling states triggered by imagining these different types of power. In addition, dispositional traits associated with either self- and other-focused power were tested as moderators of these paths.

Design/methodology/approach

An online experiment was conducted with 549 US adults (58 percent men) who were randomly assigned to imagine themselves with self-focused power, other-focused power or control. Dispositional measures were completed before priming; and feelings of sexiness, powerfulness and communalism were completed after priming. Then, participants completed either modified versions of Pryor’s (1987) Likelihood to Sexually Harass Scale or Williams et al.’s (2017) Workplace Crush Scenario.

Findings

Moderated indirect effects indicated that self-focused power increased participants’ feelings of sexiness and powerfulness, which, in turn, increased either measure of SBH. However, these indirect effects were only significant for individuals low in Dark Triad traits (Machiavellianism, narcissism and psychopathy). Surprisingly, other-focused power priming indirectly increased SBH tendencies through communal feelings.

Research limitations/implications

Moral licensing may explain the unexpected effect of other-focused power on SBH. Organizational leaders should monitor the damaging effects of both forms of power.

Originality/value

This is the first study to examine how both negative and positive power construals affect harassment tendencies and to document potential nefarious effects for both types of power.

Daily associations between alcohol and sexual behavior in young adults

We tested within-person effects of alcohol on sexual behavior among young adults in a longitudinal burst design (N = 213, 6,487 days) using data collected from a previously published parent study. We differentiated effects of alcohol on likelihood of sexual activity versus use of protection against sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) or pregnancy on intercourse occasions by testing a multilevel multinomial model with 4 outcomes (no sex, oral sex without intercourse, protected intercourse, and unprotected intercourse). At the within-person level, effects of alcohol were hypothesized to be conditional upon level of intoxication (i.e., curvilinear effect). We also tested effects of four between-person moderators: gender, typical length of relationship with sexual partners, and two facets of self-control (effortful control and reactivity). Consistent with our hypothesis, low-level intoxication was associated with increased likelihood of engaging in oral sex or protected intercourse (relative to no sex) but was not related to likelihood of unprotected intercourse. The effect of intoxication on unprotected versus protected intercourse was an accelerating curve, significantly increasing likelihood of unprotected intercourse at high levels of intoxication. Between-person factors moderated associations between intoxication and sexual behavior. Effects of intoxication on both protected and unprotected intercourse were diminished for individuals with more familiar sexual partners. Effortful control exhibited a protective effect, reducing the effects of intoxication on likelihood of unprotected intercourse. Hypothesized effects of reactivity were not supported. Intoxication was a stronger predictor of oral sex and protected intercourse (but not unprotected intercourse) for women relative to men. Results highlight the inherent complexities of the alcohol-sexual behavior nexus. (PsycINFO Database Record

The Neural Correlates of Implicit Cognitive Bias Toward Internet-Related Cues in Internet Addiction: An ERP Study

Internet addiction is a sort of non-psychoactive substance dependence. The Implicit Association Test (IAT) is used to measure implicit cognition. Event-related potential (ERP) is one of the most widely used methods in cognitive neuroscience research to investigate the physiological correlates of cognitive activity associated with processing information. Further investigating the ERP characteristics of implicit cognitive bias in Internet addiction would be helpful in understanding the nature of Internet addiction. This study investigated the ERP characteristics of implicit cognitive bias in Internet addiction. The participants included 60 Internet-addicted individuals (IAG) and 60 normal controls (NCG). All participants were measured with ERPs using the IAT. The results showed that there was a significant difference in the Internet-related IAT effect for reaction times between IAG and NCG, and there were stronger positive implicit associations toward Internet related cues in IAG than NCG. Using P1, N2, P3, and N4 as dependent variables, a mixed repeated-measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) on the mean latencies and mean amplitudes revealed a significant interaction between the groups (IAG vs. NCG) and stimulus condition (compatible trials vs. incompatible trials) for the N2 and P3 amplitudes; the simple effects analysis showed that the N2 and P3 amplitudes were larger under the IAG-compatible trial conditions than under the IAG-incompatible trial conditions. In the IAG group, the positive implicit associations with Internet-related cues elicited larger N2 and P3 amplitudes at the occipital lobe sites. These results indicated that Internet addictive individuals show stronger positive implicit associations toward Internet-related cues, and the positive implicit associations toward Internet-related cues elicited ERP changes at occipital lobe sites.

Do emotions related to alcohol consumption differ by alcohol type? An international cross-sectional survey of emotions associated with alcohol consumption and influence on drink choice in different settings

OBJECTIVES

To examine the emotions associated with drinking different types of alcohol, explore whether these emotions differ by sociodemographics and alcohol dependency and whether the emotions associated with different drink types influence people's choice of drinks in different settings.

DESIGN

International cross-sectional opportunistic survey (Global Drug Survey) using an online anonymous questionnaire in 11 languages promoted through newspapers, magazines and social media from November 2015 to January 2016.

STUDY POPULATION

Individuals aged 18-34 years who reported consumption of beer, spirits, red and white wine in the previous 12 months and were resident in countries with more than 200 respondents (n=21 countries; 29 836 respondents).

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

Positive and negative emotions associated with consumption of different alcoholic beverages (energised, relaxed, sexy, confident, tired, aggressive, ill, restless and tearful) over the past 12 months in different settings.

RESULTS

Alcoholic beverages vary in the types of emotions individuals report they elicit, with spirits more frequently eliciting emotional changes of all types. Overall 29.8% of respondents reported feeling aggressive when drinking spirits, compared with only 7.1% when drinking red wine (p<0.001). Women more frequently reported feeling all emotions when drinking alcohol, apart from feelings of aggression. Respondents' level of alcohol dependency was strongly associated with feeling all emotions, with the likelihood of aggression being significantly higher in possible dependent versus low risk drinkers (adjusted OR 6.4; 95% CI 5.79 to 7.09; p<0.001). The odds of feeling the majority of positive and negative emotions also remained highest among dependent drinkers irrespective of setting.

CONCLUSION

Understanding emotions associated with alcohol consumption is imperative to addressing alcohol misuse, providing insight into what emotions influence drink choice between different groups in the population. The differences identified between sociodemographic groups and influences on drink choice within different settings will aid future public health practice to further comprehend individuals' drinking patterns and influence behaviour change.

Meta-analysis of the relationship between impulsivity and substance-related cognitive biases

BACKGROUND

Evidence indicates that substance-related cognitive biases (attentional, memory, and approach bias) contribute to the maintenance and development of substance misuse. Impulsivity has been suggested to influence how cognitive biases contribute to substance misuse, possibly by biasing incentive salience attribution processes. However, the strength and moderators of the relationship between impulsivity and substance-related cognitive biases has yet to be empirically examined.

METHODS

A meta-analysis using random-effects models was completed assessing 19 studies that reported a quantitative relationship between an impulsivity measure and a substance-related cognitive bias. Two-component conceptualisation of impulsivity, impulsivity measurement type, gender, and age were assessed as moderators.

RESULTS

A small, significant positive relationship (r=0.10) was observed between impulsivity and substance-related attentional, memory, and approach biases. No moderators examined had a significant influence on this relationship.

CONCLUSIONS

Results are consistent with incentive sensitisation theories of addiction and suggests a weak synergistic relationship between impulsivity and substance-related cognitive biases. This relationship holds across different measures and components of impulsivity. Results provide some support for the viability of impulsivity and cognitive bias interaction models which may warrant further investigation of these factors in relation to predicting addiction treatment outcomes.

Dissociating implicit wanting from implicit liking: Development and validation of the Wanting Implicit Association Test (W-IAT)

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

Wanting and liking reflect different phenomena that can be dissociated. In the present research, we develop and validate an implicit measure of wanting, the Wanting Implicit Association Test (W-IAT). To examine the validity of the W-IAT, we compared it with a standard liking IAT (L-IAT) and a semantic pseudo-wanting IAT (PW-IAT) in a context where wanting-liking dissociations have been established by previous research. Specifically, we predicted that heterosexual male participants prefer attractive female over attractive male faces in the new wanting IAT, whereas no such asymmetry should be obtained for the liking and pseudo-wanting IATs.

METHODS

The rationale of the W-IAT consists in endowing one of the two attribute responses in the IAT with a truly motivational wanting quality, which allows assessment of stimulus-response compatibility effects between target stimuli and responses that are based on motivational wanting. To establish the motivational quality of the wanting response, participants are made thirsty with salty snacks before the test. During the W-IAT, participants obtain water as an action effect of the response with which they categorize drinks into the attribute category "I want". As target stimuli for which the strength of implicit wanting was to be assessed in the IAT, attractive and unattractive male and female faces had to be classified on the basis of their attractiveness.

RESULTS

In the W-IAT, participants (heterosexual and male) showed a stronger implicit preference for attractive female over attractive male faces. No such difference was found for implicit liking (assessed with a standard valence IAT) and for the pseudo-wanting IAT (using only semantic labels of wanting and not wanting).

LIMITATIONS

Future research is needed to validate the W-IAT in other motivational contexts besides attractive faces (e.g., addiction, craving) and to identify the elements of the procedure that are critical for establishing an implicit measure of wanting.

CONCLUSION

Results suggest that the W-IAT is a valid measure of implicit wanting.

Prevalence of at-risk drinking among Brazilian truck drivers and its interference on the performance of executive cognitive tasks

BACKGROUND

Binge drinking (BD) has been associated with an increase in the risk of alcohol-related injuries. Alcohol continues to be the main substance consumed by truck drivers, a population of special concern, since they are often involved in traffic accidents. The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence of BD and its interference in the executive functioning among truck drivers in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

METHODS

A non-probabilistic sample of 684 truck drivers was requested to answer a structured research instrument on their demographic data and alcohol use. They performed cognitive tests to assess their executive functioning and inventories about confounding variables. The participants were then divided according to their involvement in BD.

RESULTS

17.5% of the interviewees have reported being engaged in BD. Binge drinkers showed a better performance on one test, despite having done so at the expense of more mistakes and lower accuracy. More interestingly, binge drinkers took three seconds longer than non-binge drinkers to inhibit an inadequate response, which is worrisome in the context of traffic. Overall, the deleterious effect of BD on performance remained after controlling for the effects of confounding variables in regression logistic models.

CONCLUSIONS

As the use of alcohol among truck drivers may be as a way to get by with their work conditions, we believe that a negotiation between their work organization and public authorities would reduce such use, preventing negative interferences on truck drivers' cognitive functioning, which by its turn may also prevent traffic accidents.

Implicit and explicit measures of spider fear and avoidance behavior: Examination of the moderating role of working memory capacity

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

Avoidance behavior is central to several anxiety disorders. The current study tested whether avoidance behavior for spiders depends on a dynamic interplay between implicit and explicit processes, moderated by the availability to exert control through working memory capacity (WMC).

METHODS

A total of 63 participants completed an approach-avoidance task, an implicit association test, a spider fear questionnaire and a behavioral avoidance test that included an assessment of approach distance as well as approach speed. WMC was measured by a complex operation span task. It was hypothesized that in individuals with low WMC, implicit avoidance tendencies and implicit negative associations predict avoidance behavior for a spider better than the explicit measure, whereas in high WMC individuals, the explicit measure should better predict avoidance behavior than the implicit measures.

RESULTS

Results revealed that WMC moderated the influence of implicit negative associations, but not implicit avoidance tendencies, on spider approach distance but not the speed of approaching. Although explicit spider fear directly influenced avoidance behavior, its impact was not modulated by WMC.

LIMITATIONS

Participants in our study were from a non-clinical sample, which limits the generalizability of our findings.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings suggest that implicit processes might become more pertinent for fear behavior as the ability to control such processes wanes, which may be particularly relevant for anxiety disorders given their association with lowered executive control functioning. As such, training procedures that specifically target implicit processes or control abilities might improve treatment outcomes for anxiety disorders.

Acute Effects of Intoxication and Arousal on Approach/Avoidance Biases Toward Sexual Risk Stimuli in Heterosexual Men

This study tested the effects of alcohol intoxication and physiological arousal on cognitive biases toward erotic stimuli and condoms. Ninety-seven heterosexual men were randomized to 1 of 6 independent conditions in a 2 (high arousal or control) × 3 (alcohol target BAC = 0.08, placebo, or juice control) design and then completed a variant of the Approach-Avoidance Task (AAT). The AAT assessed reaction times toward approaching and avoiding erotic stimuli and condoms with a joystick. Consistent with hypotheses, the alcohol condition exhibited an approach bias toward erotic stimuli, whereas the control and placebo groups exhibited an approach bias toward condom stimuli. Similarly, the participants in the high arousal condition exhibited an approach bias toward erotic stimuli and the low arousal control condition exhibited an approach bias toward condoms. The results suggest that acute changes in intoxication and physiological arousal independently foster biased responding toward sexual stimuli and these biases are associated with sexual risk intentions.

Cognitive neuroscience of cognitive retraining for addiction medicine: From mediating mechanisms to questions of efficacy

Cognitive retraining or cognitive bias modification (CBM) involves having subjects repeatedly perform a computerized task designed to reduce the impact of automatic processes that lead to harmful behavior. We first discuss the theory underlying CBM and provide a brief overview of important research progress in its application to addiction. We then focus on cognitive- and neural-mediating mechanisms. We consider recent criticism of both CBM and its theoretical foundations. Evaluations of CBM could benefit from considering theory-driven factors that may determine variations in efficacy, such as motivation. Concerning theory, while there is certainly room for fundamental advances in current models, we argue that the basic view of impulsive behavior and its control remains a useful and productive heuristic. Finally, we briefly discuss some interesting new directions for CBM research: enhancement of training via transcranial direct current stimulation, online training, and gamification, i.e., the use of gameplay elements to increase motivation.

Keep calm and carry on: Maintaining self-control when intoxicated, upset, or depleted

This study tested within-person associations between intoxication, negative affect, and self-control demands and two forms of self-control failure, interpersonal conflict, and neglecting responsibilities. Effortful control was hypothesised to act as a buffer, reducing individual susceptibility to these within-person effects. In contrast, reactivity was hypothesised to potentiate the within-person associations. 274 young adults aged 18-27 (56% women, 93% white) completed experience sampling assessments for up to 49 days over the course of 1.3 years. Results indicated independent within-person effects of intoxication, negative affect, and self-control demands on the outcomes. Hypothesised moderating effects of reactivity were not supported. Effortful control did not moderate the effects of self-control demands as expected. However, effortful control exhibited a protective effect when individuals were intoxicated or upset to reduce the likelihood of maladaptive behavioural outcomes.

The relationship between drinking motives and alcohol-related interpretation biases

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

Numerous studies have investigated drinking motives and alcohol-related interpretation biases (IBs) separately. However, less is known about the relationship between them. Therefore, the present study examined whether coping and enhancement drinking motives were specifically related to negative and positive alcohol-related IBs, respectively. Furthermore, it was investigated whether such biases predict future drinking, especially in individuals with low levels of executive control (EC).

METHODS

Participants were male and female university students. The Drinking Motives Questionnaire-Revised (DMQ-R; Cooper, 1994) was administered to measure participants' drinking motives. To measure alcohol-related IBs, an adapted version of the Encoding Recognition Task (ERT) was used. During the ERT, participants were asked to read ambiguous alcohol-related scenarios. In a subsequent recognition phase, participants interpreted these scenarios. A classical Stroop was applied to assess levels of EC.

RESULTS

Coping motives but not enhancement motives were a unique predictor of the tendency to interpret negatively valenced ambiguous alcohol-relevant situations in an alcohol-related manner. This relationship was significant even when controlling for other relevant predictors. Neither coping nor enhancement motives were predictive of positive alcohol-related IBs. Concerning the prediction of prospective drinking, results showed that particularly the negative alcohol-related IB predicted prospective drinking. However, EC did not moderate the prediction of prospective drinking by either positive or negative interpretation biases.

LIMITATIONS

The alcohol-ERT might not be the most optimal paradigm for assessing implicit alcohol-related IBs.

CONCLUSIONS

The present results emphasize the role of negative affect in the context of drinking motives and alcohol-related IBs. Follow-up studies are needed to test the robustness of these findings, and to further explore the general interplay between drinking motives and alcohol-related IBs.

Longitudinal relations between cognitive bias and adolescent alcohol use

INTRODUCTION

To prospectively predict the development of adolescent alcohol use with alcohol-related cognitive biases, and to predict the development of alcohol-related cognitive biases with aspects of impulsivity.

METHODS

Data were used from a two-year, four-wave online sample of 378 Dutch young adolescents (mean age 14.9 years, 64.8% female). With zero-inflated Poisson regression analysis we prospectively predicted weekly alcohol use using baseline cognitive biases. Additionally, multiple regression analyses were used to prospectively predict the emergence of alcohol-specific cognitive biases by baseline impulsivity and alcohol use.

RESULTS

Zero-inflated Poisson analyses demonstrated that the Visual Probe Task reliably predicted weekly alcohol use at different time points. Baseline alcohol use and baseline impulsivity measures did generally not predict alcohol-specific cognitive biases.

CONCLUSIONS

The findings of this study indicated that while certain measures of alcohol-related attentional bias predicted later alcohol use in young adolescents, approach biases did not. Baseline measures of impulsivity and alcohol use did not predict later alcohol-related cognitive biases. We discuss implications for cognitive models on the development of cognitive biases and their role in early addictive behaviors.

“Because I Am Worth It”

Self-regulation failure is often explained as being overwhelmed by impulse. The present article proposes a novel pathway, presenting a theoretical framework and empirical review of a justification-based account of self-regulation failure. With justification we refer to making excuses for one’s discrepant behavior, so that when experiencing a self-regulation dilemma between immediate impulses and long-term intentions, people resolve the conflict by developing and employing justifications that allow violations of the goal they endorse. Accordingly, rather than inhibiting motivations from the impulsive system, the reflective system can also facilitate them, leading to self-regulation failure. We bring together empirical evidence from various domains demonstrating that justifications can instigate self-regulation failure and rule out alternative accounts. Having established that justification processes contribute to self-regulation failure, we then propose several mechanisms that may fuel the effect. Finally, routes for future research and the conceptual and practical implications of these novel insights for self-regulation are discussed.

Effect of baseline cannabis use and working-memory network function on changes in cannabis use in heavy cannabis users: a prospective fMRI study

Theoretical models of addiction suggest that a substance use disorder represents an imbalance between hypersensitive motivational processes and deficient regulatory executive functions. Working-memory (a central executive function) may be a powerful predictor of the course of drug use and drug-related problems. Goal of the current functional magnetic resonance imaging study was to assess the predictive power of working-memory network function for future cannabis use and cannabis-related problem severity in heavy cannabis users. Tensor independent component analysis was used to investigate differences in working-memory network function between 32 heavy cannabis users and 41 nonusing controls during an N-back working-memory task. In addition, associations were examined between working-memory network function and cannabis use and problem severity at baseline and at 6-month follow-up. Behavioral performance and working-memory network function did not significantly differ between heavy cannabis users and controls. However, among heavy cannabis users, individual differences in working-memory network response had an independent effect on change in weekly cannabis use 6 months later (ΔR(2) = 0.11, P = 0.006, f(2) = 0.37) beyond baseline cannabis use (ΔR(2) = 0.41) and a behavioral measure of approach bias (ΔR(2) = 0.18): a stronger network response during the N-back task was related to an increase in weekly cannabis use. These findings imply that heavy cannabis users requiring greater effort to accurately complete an N-back working-memory task have a higher probability of escalating cannabis use. Working-memory network function may be a biomarker for the prediction of course and treatment outcome in cannabis users.

Approach bias modification in alcohol dependence: do clinical effects replicate and for whom does it work best?

BACKGROUND

Alcoholism is a progressive neurocognitive developmental disorder. Recent evidence shows that computerized training interventions (Cognitive Bias Modification, CBM) can reverse some of these maladaptively changed neurocognitive processes. A first clinical study of a CBM, called alcohol-avoidance training, found that trained alcoholic patients showed less relapse at one-year follow-up than control patients. The present study tested the replication of this result, and questions about mediation and moderation.

METHODS

509 alcohol-dependent patients received treatment as usual (primarily Cognitive Behavior Therapy) inpatient treatment. Before and after treatment, the implicit approach bias was measured with the Alcohol Approach-Avoidance Task. Half of the patients were randomly assigned to CBM, the other half received treatment as usual only. Background variables, psychopathology and executive control were tested as possible moderating variables of CBM. One year after treatment, follow-up data about relapse were collected.

RESULTS

The group receiving CBM developed alcohol-avoidance behavior and reported significantly lower relapse rates at one-year follow-up. Change in alcohol-approach bias mediated this effect. Moderation analyses demonstrated that older patients and patients with a strong approach-bias at pretest profited most from CBM.

CONCLUSIONS

CBM is a promising treatment add-on in alcohol addiction and may counter some of the maladaptive neurocognitive effects of long-term alcoholism.

Automatic processes in at-risk adolescents: the role of alcohol-approach tendencies and response inhibition in drinking behavior

AIMS

This study examined the association between automatic processes and drinking behavior in relation to individual differences in response inhibition in young adolescents who had just started drinking. It was hypothesized that strong automatic behavioral tendencies toward alcohol-related stimuli (alcohol-approach bias) were associated with higher levels of alcohol use, especially amongst adolescents with relatively weak inhibition skills.

DESIGN

To test this hypothesis structural equation analyses (standard error of mean) were performed using a zero inflated Poisson (ZIP) model. A well-known problem in studying risk behavior is the low incidence rate resulting in a zero dominated distribution. A ZIP-model accounts for non-normality of the data.

SETTING

Adolescents were selected from secondary Special Education schools (a risk group for the development of substance use problems).

PARTICIPANTS

Participants were 374 adolescents (mean age of M = 13.6 years).

MEASUREMENTS

Adolescents completed the alcohol approach avoidance task (a-AAT), the Stroop colour naming task (Stroop) and a questionnaire that assessed alcohol use.

FINDINGS

The ZIP-model established stronger alcohol-approach tendencies for adolescent drinkers (P < 0.01) and the interaction revealed a stronger effect of alcohol-approach tendencies on alcohol use in the absence of good inhibition skills (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSION

Automatically-activated cognitive processes are associated with the drinking behavior of young, at-risk adolescents. It appears that alcohol-approach tendencies are formed shortly after the initiation of drinking and particularly affect the drinking behavior of adolescents with relatively weak inhibition skills. Implications for the prevention of problem drinking in adolescents are discussed.

Interactions between self-reported alcohol outcome expectancies and cognitive functioning in the prediction of alcohol use and associated problems: a further examination

A recent debate regarding the theoretical distinction between explicit and implicit cognitive processes relevant to alcohol-related behaviors was strongly shaped by empirical findings from dual-process models (Moss & Albery, 2009; Wiers & Stacy, 2010; Moss & Albery, 2010). Specifically, as part of a broader discussion, Wiers & Stacy (2010) contended that alcohol-related behaviors are better predicted by self-reported alcohol expectancies for individuals with good executive control and verbal abilities relative to those without such abilities. The purpose of the current paper is to further test whether self-reported alcohol outcome expectancies are moderated by measures of cognitive functioning. Using multiple indices of alcohol use, alcohol-related consequences, self-reported alcohol outcome expectancies, and cognitive functioning, both cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses were conducted in a prospective sample of 489 individuals at varying risk for alcohol use disorders. Results from a series of regression analyses testing interactions between self-reported alcohol expectancies and cognitive functioning showed minimal support for the hypothesized pattern discussed by Wiers and Stacy, 2010 regarding self-reported alcohol outcome expectancies. The overall rates of significance were consistent with Type I error rates and a substantial proportion of the significant interactions were inconsistent with previous findings. Thus, the conclusion that cognitive measures consistently moderate the relation between self-reported alcohol expectancies and alcohol use and outcomes should be tempered.

Addiction, adolescence, and the integration of control and motivation

The likelihood of initiating addictive behaviors is higher during adolescence than during any other developmental period. The differential developmental trajectories of brain regions involved in motivation and control processes may lead to adolescents' increased risk taking in general, which may be exacerbated by the neural consequences of drug use. Neuroimaging studies suggest that increased risk-taking behavior in adolescence is related to an imbalance between prefrontal cortical regions, associated with executive functions, and subcortical brain regions related to affect and motivation. Dual-process models of addictive behaviors are similarly concerned with difficulties in controlling abnormally strong motivational processes. We acknowledge concerns raised about dual-process models, but argue that they can be addressed by carefully considering levels of description: motivational processes and top-down biasing can be understood as intertwined, co-developing components of more versus less reflective states of processing. We illustrate this with a model that further emphasizes temporal dynamics. Finally, behavioral interventions for addiction are discussed. Insights in the development of control and motivation may help to better understand - and more efficiently intervene in - vulnerabilities involving control and motivation.

Zwei Seelen wohnen, ach, in meiner Brust

Zusammenfassung. Bereits die antike Philosophie hat sich mit der Frage beschäftigt, warum Menschen zuweilen wider besseres Wissen den kurzfristigen Verlockungen des Augenblicks nachgeben und damit wichtigen langfristigen Zielen zuwider handeln. In der modernen Psychologie wird das Problem der Selbstkontrolle in einer ganzen Reihe von Ansätzen aufgegriffen, darunter kybernetische Modelle, intertemporale Entscheidungsmodelle, Zielintentions-Modelle, Zielkonflikt-Modelle, und Zweisystem-Modelle. Zweisystem-Modelle scheinen sich von den übrigen Ansätzen dadurch abzuheben, dass sie impulsive Prozesse der Verhaltensdetermination explizit thematisieren und in Erklärungsmodelle menschlichen Verhaltens integrieren. Wir berichten jüngere empirische Befunde, die aus einem solchen Ansatz erwachsen sind und diskutieren die Vorteile und Grenzen einer Zweisystem-Modellierung von Selbstkontrollkonflikten aus grundlagen- und anwendungsorientierter Sicht.

Cognitive and neurobiological mechanisms of alcohol-related aggression

Alcohol-related violence is a serious and common social problem. Moreover, violent behaviour is much more common in alcohol-dependent individuals. Animal experiments and human studies have provided insights into the acute effect of alcohol on aggressive behaviour and into common factors underlying acute and chronic alcohol intake and aggression. These studies have shown that environmental factors, such as early-life stress, interact with genetic variations in serotonin-related genes that affect serotonergic and GABAergic neurotransmission. This leads to increased amygdala activity and impaired prefrontal function that, together, predispose to both increased alcohol intake and impulsive aggression. In addition, acute and chronic alcohol intake can further impair executive control and thereby facilitate aggressive behaviour.

Explicit- and implicit bullying attitudes in relation to bullying behavior

The main aim of this study was to examine whether an assessment of implicit bullying attitudes could add to the prediction of bullying behavior after controlling for explicit bullying attitudes. Primary school children (112 boys and 125 girls, M age = 11 years, 5 months) completed two newly developed measures of implicit bullying attitudes (a general Implicit Association Test on bullying and a movie-primed specific IAT on bullying), an explicit bullying attitude measure, and self reported, peer reported, and teacher rated bullying behavior. While explicit bullying attitudes predicted bullying behavior, implicit attitudes did not. However, a significant interaction between implicit and explicit bullying attitudes indicated that in children with relatively positive explicit attitudes, implicit bullying attitudes were important predictors of bullying behavior. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Impulsivity, impulsive and reflective processes and the development of alcohol use and misuse in adolescents and young adults

This paper contrasts dual-process and personality approaches in the prediction of addictive behaviors and related risk behaviors. In dual-process models, behavior is described as the joint outcome of qualitatively different “impulsive” (or associative) and “reflective” processes. There are important individual differences regarding both types of processes, and the relative strength of both in a specific situation is influenced by prior behavior and state variables (e.g., fatigue, alcohol use). From this perspective, a specific behavior (e.g., alcohol misuse) can be predicted by the combined indices of the behavior-related impulsive processes (e.g., associations with alcohol), and reflective processes, including the ability to refrain from a motivationally salient action. Personality approaches have reported that general traits such as impulsivity predict addictive behaviors. Here we contrast these two approaches, with supplementary analyses on four datasets. We hypothesized that trait impulsivity can predict specific risky behaviors, but that its predictive power disappears once specific behavior-related associations, indicators of executive functioning, and their interaction are entered into the equation. In all four studies the observed interaction between specific associations and executive control (EC) was robust: trait impulsivity did not diminish the prediction of alcohol use by the interaction. Trait impulsivity was not always related to alcohol use, and when it was, the predictive power disappeared after entering the interaction between behavior-specific associations and EC in one study, but not in the other. These findings are interpreted in relation to the validity of the measurements used, which leads to a more refined hypothesis.

Are alcohol expectancies associations? Comment on Moss and Albery (2009)

Moss and Albery presented a dual-process model of the alcohol-behavior link, integrating alcohol expectancy and alcohol myopia theory. Their integrative theory rests on a number of assumptions including, first, that alcohol expectancies are associations that can be activated automatically by an alcohol-relevant context, and second, that alcohol selectively reduces propositional reasoning. As a result, behavior comes under the control of associative processes after alcohol consumption. We agree with the second but not with the first assumption, based on theoretical and empirical arguments. Although in some cases expectancies may involve a simple association, they are propositional in nature. We demonstrate that this assertion is supported by existing literature cited in Moss and Albery. Moreover, 6 recent studies consistently demonstrated that under circumstances in which executive control is impaired (either as a stable individual difference or under the acute influence of alcohol), associative processes, over and above expectancies, predict alcohol-related behavior. Taken together, the evidence strongly suggests a fundamental distinction between expectancies and associations in memory: Effects of propositional expectancies and executive functions are impaired under the acute influence of alcohol, but memory associations are not. This difference in perspective not only has theoretical implications but also leads to different predictions regarding acute alcohol effects in society.

Implicit cognition and addiction: a tool for explaining paradoxical behavior

Research on implicit cognition and addiction has expanded greatly during the past decade. This research area provides new ways to understand why people engage in behaviors that they know are harmful or counterproductive in the long run. Implicit cognition takes a different view from traditional cognitive approaches to addiction by assuming that behavior is often not a result of a reflective decision that takes into account the pros and cons known by the individual. Instead of a cognitive algebra integrating many cognitions relevant to choice, implicit cognition assumes that the influential cognitions are the ones that are spontaneously activated during critical decision points. This selective review highlights many of the consistent findings supporting predictive effects of implicit cognition on substance use and abuse in adolescents and adults; reveals a recent integration with dual-process models; outlines the rapid evolution of different measurement tools; and introduces new routes for intervention.