Citation

Farris SR, Ostafin BD. Am. J. Drug Alcohol Abuse 2008; 34(6): 703-711.

Affiliation

Department of Psychology, North Dakota State University, Fargo, North Dakota 58105, USA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2008, Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1080/00952990802308247

PMID

18850498

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: There is increasing evidence that automatic mental processes play a role in problematic alcohol use. Although previous research has shown that alcohol consumption can prime alcohol-seeking behavior in animals and humans, little research has examined whether alcohol consumption activates automatic alcohol-related cognitions. The current study was designed to examine the effects of alcohol consumption on the activation of automatic alcohol motivation as measured by a reaction time task. METHOD: Eighty-five at-risk drinkers participated in the study, which began with a baseline measure of automatic alcohol motivation, after which participants completed a taste-test in which they could consume as much beer as they liked for 10 minutes. Following an absorption period, participants completed the measure of automatic alcohol motivation for a second time. RESULTS: A partial correlation analysis indicated that amount of alcohol consumed predicted stronger automatic alcohol motivation when controlling for the baseline level of automatic alcohol motivation. CONCLUSION: The findings suggest that alcohol consumption may prime the automatic mental processes that have been shown to contribute to problematic alcohol use.

Language: en