OBJECTIVE: Previous research has identified several aspects of behavioral undercontrol that are associated with heavy drinking and problems. Further, research on the acquired preparedness model (Smith and Anderson, 2001) has identified biased learning as a potential mechanism of these effects. Traits like sensation seeking have been linked to stronger positive and weaker negative expectancies, which, in turn, contribute to increased risk for heavy drinking and problems. Although expectancies are thought to represent potentially biased expectations about drinking outcomes, they may also reflect individual differences in alcohol response. The present study examined the strength of associations between sensation seeking and both expectancies (response to placebo) and subjective response under alcohol. METHOD: Using a between-subjects design, young adult social drinkers (N = 236) were randomly assigned to receive alcohol (target breath alcohol concentration of .08%) or placebo, after which they reported on subjective experiences of stimulation and sedation. RESULTS:Sensation seeking was significantly related to stimulant response, and the strength of this association did not differ by beverage condition (alcohol vs. placebo). CONCLUSIONS: The findings argue against a pharmacological explanation for results of prior studies of the acquired preparedness model and support a biased learning interpretation of relations between sensation seeking and positive expectancies. Results also extend the findings on the acquired preparedness model to an implicit measure of positive alcohol expectancies (subjective response to placebo). Future studies using additional measures of implicit expectancies (e.g., Implicit Association Test) would be helpful in determining the relative strength of implicit and explicit expectancies as mediators within the acquired preparedness model.
RCT Entities:
OBJECTIVE: Previous research has identified several aspects of behavioral undercontrol that are associated with heavy drinking and problems. Further, research on the acquired preparedness model (Smith and Anderson, 2001) has identified biased learning as a potential mechanism of these effects. Traits like sensation seeking have been linked to stronger positive and weaker negative expectancies, which, in turn, contribute to increased risk for heavy drinking and problems. Although expectancies are thought to represent potentially biased expectations about drinking outcomes, they may also reflect individual differences in alcohol response. The present study examined the strength of associations between sensation seeking and both expectancies (response to placebo) and subjective response under alcohol. METHOD: Using a between-subjects design, young adult social drinkers (N = 236) were randomly assigned to receive alcohol (target breath alcohol concentration of .08%) or placebo, after which they reported on subjective experiences of stimulation and sedation. RESULTS: Sensation seeking was significantly related to stimulant response, and the strength of this association did not differ by beverage condition (alcohol vs. placebo). CONCLUSIONS: The findings argue against a pharmacological explanation for results of prior studies of the acquired preparedness model and support a biased learning interpretation of relations between sensation seeking and positive expectancies. Results also extend the findings on the acquired preparedness model to an implicit measure of positive alcohol expectancies (subjective response to placebo). Future studies using additional measures of implicit expectancies (e.g., Implicit Association Test) would be helpful in determining the relative strength of implicit and explicit expectancies as mediators within the acquired preparedness model.
Authors: Valerie S Knopik; Andrew C Heath; Pamela A F Madden; Kathleen K Bucholz; Wendy S Slutske; Elliot C Nelson; Dixie Statham; John B Whitfield; Nicholas G Martin Journal: Psychol Med Date: 2004-11 Impact factor: 7.723
Authors: Christian S Hendershot; Jeffrey D Wardell; Nicole M Strang; Mike S D Markovich; Eric D Claus; Vijay A Ramchandani Journal: Exp Clin Psychopharmacol Date: 2015-06 Impact factor: 3.157
Authors: Jack T Waddell; Scott E King; Sarah A Okey; Shane D Marohnic; William R Corbin Journal: J Stud Alcohol Drugs Date: 2022-03 Impact factor: 2.582
Authors: William R Corbin; Anna Papova; Meghan E Morean; Stephanie S O'Malley; Suchitra Krishnan-Sarin; Anissa Abi-Dargham; Alan Anticevic; Godfrey Pearlson; Ismene Petrakis; Brian P Pittman; John H Krystal Journal: Psychol Addict Behav Date: 2015-09-07
Authors: Luigi Tinella; Alessandro Oronzo Caffò; Antonella Lopez; Francesco Nardulli; Ignazio Grattagliano; Andrea Bosco Journal: Int J Environ Res Public Health Date: 2021-12-05 Impact factor: 3.390