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Paruzel-Czachura M, Pypno K, Everett JAC, Białek M, Gawronski B. The Drunk Utilitarian Revisited: Does Alcohol Really Increase Utilitarianism in Moral Judgment? PERSONALITY AND SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY BULLETIN 2023; 49:20-31. [PMID: 34657500 DOI: 10.1177/01461672211052120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
The "drunk utilitarian" phenomenon suggests that people are more likely to accept harm for the greater good when they are under the influence of alcohol. This phenomenon conflicts with the ideas that (a) acceptance of pro-sacrificial harm requires inhibitory control of automatic emotional responses to the idea of causing harm and (b) alcohol impairs inhibitory control. This preregistered experiment aimed to provide deeper insights into the effects of alcohol on moral judgments by using a formal modeling approach to disentangle three factors in moral dilemma judgments and by distinguishing between instrumental harm and impartial beneficence as two distinct dimensions of utilitarian psychology. Despite the use of a substantially larger sample and higher doses of alcohol compared with the ones in prior studies, alcohol had no significant effect on moral judgments. The results pose a challenge to the idea that alcohol increases utilitarianism in moral judgments.
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Cofresí RU, Watts AL, Martins JS, Wood PK, Sher KJ, Cowan N, Miyake A, Bartholow BD. Acute effect of alcohol on working memory updating. Addiction 2021; 116:3029-3043. [PMID: 33822441 PMCID: PMC8492486 DOI: 10.1111/add.15506] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/04/2020] [Revised: 12/02/2020] [Accepted: 03/24/2021] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
AIMS To examine the acute effects of alcohol on working memory (WM) updating, including potential variation across the ascending limb (AL) and descending limb (DL) of the blood alcohol concentration (BAC) time-course. DESIGN A two-session experiment in which participants were randomly assigned to one of three beverage conditions [alcohol (males: 0.80 g/kg; females: 0.72 g/kg), active placebo (0.04 g/kg) or non-alcohol control (tonic)] and one of two BAC limb testing conditions (AL and DL or DL-only) for the second session, yielding a 3 (beverage) × 2 (time-points tested) × 3 (time-point) mixed factorial design with repeated measures on the latter factor. One of the repeated assessments is 'missing by design' in the DL-only condition. SETTING A psychology laboratory at the University of Missouri campus in Columbia, MO, USA. PARTICIPANTS Two hundred thirty-one community-dwelling young adults (51% female; aged 21-34 years) recruited from Columbia, MO, USA, tested between 2011 and 2013. MEASUREMENTS Latent WM updating performance as indexed by shared variance in accuracy on three WM updating tasks (letter memory, keep track, spatial 2-back) at three time-points. FINDINGS Multi-group modeling of latent WM updating indicated that performance among participants who consumed placebo or control beverages improved during the second session at time-points corresponding to AL (∆ from baseline in latent mean ± standard error (SE) + 0.5 ± 0.01, P < 0.001) and DL (+ 0.08 ± 0.01, P < 0.001). Alcohol consumption did not impair WM updating (∆ from baseline in latent mean ± SE, at AL: + 0.01 ± 0.01, P = 0.56; at DL: + 0.05 ± 0.01, P < 0.001), but attenuated performance improvements (equality of latent means across beverage groups at AL or DL: Δχ2(1) ≥ 7.53, P < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS Acute alcohol-induced impairment in working memory updating may be limited, but dampening of practice effects by alcohol could interfere with the completion of novel, unpracticed tasks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roberto U Cofresí
- Department of Psychological Sciences, College of Arts and Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, USA
| | - Ashley L Watts
- Department of Psychological Sciences, College of Arts and Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, USA
| | - Jorge S Martins
- Department of Psychological Sciences, College of Arts and Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, USA
| | - Phillip K Wood
- Department of Psychological Sciences, College of Arts and Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, USA
| | - Kenneth J Sher
- Department of Psychological Sciences, College of Arts and Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, USA
| | - Nelson Cowan
- Department of Psychological Sciences, College of Arts and Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, USA
| | - Akira Miyake
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, College of Arts and Sciences, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA
| | - Bruce D Bartholow
- Department of Psychological Sciences, College of Arts and Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, USA
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Riedel P, Wolff M, Spreer M, Petzold J, Plawecki MH, Goschke T, Zimmermann US, Smolka MN. Acute alcohol does not impair attentional inhibition as measured with Stroop interference scores but impairs Stroop performance. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 2021; 238:1593-1607. [PMID: 33660080 PMCID: PMC8139883 DOI: 10.1007/s00213-021-05792-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2020] [Accepted: 02/04/2021] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
RATIONALE Inhibition is a core executive function and refers to the ability to deliberately suppress attention, behavior, thoughts, and/or emotions and instead act in a specific manner. While acute alcohol exposure has been shown to impair response inhibition in the stop-signal and Go/NoGo tasks, reported alcohol effects on attentional inhibition in the Stroop task are inconsistent. Notably, studies have operationalized attentional inhibition variably and there has been intra- and inter-individual variability in alcohol exposure. OBJECTIVE This study aimed to examine the acute effects of alcohol on attentional inhibition, considering previous limitations. METHODS In a single-blind, cross-over design, 40 non-dependent participants with a medium-to-high risk drinking behavior performed a Counting Stroop task (CST) under a baseline and an arterial blood alcohol concentration (aBAC) clamp at 80 mg%. Attentional inhibition was assessed as the alteration of reaction times (RT), error rates (ER), and inverse efficiency scores (IES) between incongruent and congruent trials (interference score). Stroop performance was also assessed regardless of trial-type. RESULTS Compared to saline, acute alcohol exposure via an aBAC clamp did not affect CST interference scores but increased RTs and IES in both incongruent and congruent trials. CONCLUSIONS Attentional inhibition (Stroop interference score) was not impaired by clamped moderate alcohol exposure. Acute alcohol impaired Stroop performance evidenced by a general increase in response times. Our findings suggest that response and attentional inhibition do not share the same neurocognitive mechanisms and are affected differently by alcohol. Results could also be explained by automated behaviors known to be relatively unaffected by acute alcohol.
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Affiliation(s)
- P Riedel
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Technische Universität Dresden, Fetscherstraße 74, 01307, Dresden, Germany
- Neuroimaging Center, Technische Universität Dresden, Würzburger Straße 35, 01187, Dresden, Germany
- UCLA Semel Institute for Neuroscience & Human Behavior, David Geffen School of Medicine, 760 Westwood Plaza, Los Angeles, CA, 90024, USA
| | - M Wolff
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Technische Universität Dresden, Fetscherstraße 74, 01307, Dresden, Germany
- Department of General Psychology, Technische Universität Dresden, Zellescher Weg 17, 01069, Dresden, Germany
| | - M Spreer
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Technische Universität Dresden, Fetscherstraße 74, 01307, Dresden, Germany
| | - J Petzold
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Technische Universität Dresden, Fetscherstraße 74, 01307, Dresden, Germany
- Neuroimaging Center, Technische Universität Dresden, Würzburger Straße 35, 01187, Dresden, Germany
| | - M H Plawecki
- Department of Psychiatry, Indiana University School of Medicine, 355 West 16th Street, Indianapolis, IN, 46202, USA
| | - T Goschke
- Neuroimaging Center, Technische Universität Dresden, Würzburger Straße 35, 01187, Dresden, Germany
- Department of General Psychology, Technische Universität Dresden, Zellescher Weg 17, 01069, Dresden, Germany
| | - U S Zimmermann
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Technische Universität Dresden, Fetscherstraße 74, 01307, Dresden, Germany
- Department of Addiction Medicine and Psychotherapy, kbo-Isar-Amper-Klinikum München-Ost, Vockestraße 72, 85540, Haar, Germany
| | - M N Smolka
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Technische Universität Dresden, Fetscherstraße 74, 01307, Dresden, Germany.
- Neuroimaging Center, Technische Universität Dresden, Würzburger Straße 35, 01187, Dresden, Germany.
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Gunn C, Fairchild G, Verster JC, Adams S. The Effects of Alcohol Hangover on Executive Functions. J Clin Med 2020; 9:E1148. [PMID: 32316438 PMCID: PMC7230396 DOI: 10.3390/jcm9041148] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/03/2020] [Revised: 04/12/2020] [Accepted: 04/14/2020] [Indexed: 12/05/2022] Open
Abstract
Recent research has suggested that processes reliant on executive functions are impaired by an alcohol hangover, yet few studies have investigated the effect of hangovers on core executive function processes. Therefore, the current study investigated the effect of hangovers on the three core components of the unity/diversity model of executive functions: the ability to switch attention, update information in working memory, and maintain goals. Thirty-five 18-to-30-year-old non-smoking individuals who reported experiencing a hangover at least once in the previous month participated in this study. They completed tasks measuring switching (number-switching task), updating (n-back task), and goal maintenance (AX Continuous Performance Test, AX-CPT) whilst experiencing a hangover and without a hangover in a 'naturalistic' within-subjects crossover design. Participants made more errors in the switching task (p = 0.019), more errors in both the 1- (p < 0.001) and 2-back (p < 0.001) versions of the n-back, and more errors in the AX-CPT (p = 0.007) tasks when experiencing a hangover, compared to the no-hangover condition. These results suggest that an alcohol hangover impairs core executive function processes that are important for everyday behaviours, such as decision-making, planning, and mental flexibility.
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Affiliation(s)
- Craig Gunn
- Addiction and Mental Health Group, Department of Psychology, University of Bath, Bath BA2 7AY, UK
| | | | - Joris C. Verster
- Division of Pharmacology, Utrecht University, 3584CG Utrecht, The Netherlands;
- Institute for Risk Assessment Sciences (IRAS), Utrecht University, 3584CM Utrecht, The Netherlands
- Centre for Human Psychopharmacology, Swinburne University, Melbourne, VIC 3122, Australia
| | - Sally Adams
- Addiction and Mental Health Group, Department of Psychology, University of Bath, Bath BA2 7AY, UK
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Exploring power in response inhibition tasks using the bootstrap: The impact of number of participants, number of trials, effect magnitude, and study design. Int J Psychophysiol 2019; 163:35-46. [PMID: 31836477 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2019.08.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/12/2018] [Revised: 06/18/2019] [Accepted: 08/23/2019] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
A primary psychometric concern with laboratory-based inhibition tasks has been their reliability. However, a reliable measure may not be necessary or sufficient for reliably detecting effects (statistical power). The current study used a bootstrap sampling approach to systematically examine how the number of participants, the number of trials, the magnitude of an effect, and study design (between- vs. within-subject) jointly contribute to power in five commonly used inhibition tasks. The results demonstrate the shortcomings of relying solely on measurement reliability when determining the number of trials to use in an inhibition task: high internal reliability can be accompanied with low power and low reliability can be accompanied with high power. For instance, adding additional trials once sufficient reliability has been reached can result in large gains in power. The partial dissociation between reliability and power was particularly apparent in between-subject designs where the number of participants contributed greatly to power but little to reliability, and where the number of trials contributed greatly to reliability but only modestly (depending on the task) to power. For between-subject designs, the probability of detecting small-to-medium-sized effects with 150 participants (total) was generally <55%. However, effect size was positively associated with number of trials. Thus, researchers have some control over effect size and this needs to be considered when conducting power analyses using analytic methods that take such effect sizes as an argument. Results are discussed in the context of recent claims regarding the role of inhibition tasks in experimental and individual difference designs.
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Prediction Model of Alcohol Intoxication from Facial Temperature Dynamics Based on K-Means Clustering Driven by Evolutionary Computing. Symmetry (Basel) 2019. [DOI: 10.3390/sym11080995] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Alcohol intoxication is a significant phenomenon, affecting many social areas, including work procedures or car driving. Alcohol causes certain side effects including changing the facial thermal distribution, which may enable the contactless identification and classification of alcohol-intoxicated people. We adopted a multiregional segmentation procedure to identify and classify symmetrical facial features, which reliably reflects the facial-temperature variations while subjects are drinking alcohol. Such a model can objectively track alcohol intoxication in the form of a facial temperature map. In our paper, we propose the segmentation model based on the clustering algorithm, which is driven by the modified version of the Artificial Bee Colony (ABC) evolutionary optimization with the goal of facial temperature features extraction from the IR (infrared radiation) images. This model allows for a definition of symmetric clusters, identifying facial temperature structures corresponding with intoxication. The ABC algorithm serves as an optimization process for an optimal cluster’s distribution to the clustering method the best approximate individual areas linked with gradual alcohol intoxication. In our analysis, we analyzed a set of twenty volunteers, who had IR images taken to reflect the process of alcohol intoxication. The proposed method was represented by multiregional segmentation, allowing for classification of the individual spatial temperature areas into segmentation classes. The proposed method, besides single IR image modelling, allows for dynamical tracking of the alcohol-temperature features within a process of intoxication, from the sober state up to the maximum observed intoxication level.
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Lindgren KP, Hendershot CS, Ramirez JJ, Bernat E, Rangel-Gomez M, Peterson KP, Murphy JG. A dual process perspective on advances in cognitive science and alcohol use disorder. Clin Psychol Rev 2019; 69:83-96. [PMID: 29680185 PMCID: PMC6181791 DOI: 10.1016/j.cpr.2018.04.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/01/2017] [Revised: 04/04/2018] [Accepted: 04/05/2018] [Indexed: 10/17/2022]
Abstract
There is a tremendous global and national (US) burden associated with alcohol misuse and alcohol use disorder (AUD). Further, of the mental health disorders, AUD has the widest treatment gap. Thus, there is a critical need for improved understanding of the etiology, maintenance, and treatment of AUD. The application of cognitive science to the study of AUD has a longstanding history of attempting to meet this need. In this selective review, we identified and focused on four domains of recent (i.e., in the last decade) applications of cognitive science to the study of AUD: implicit cognitive biases, executive function, behavioral economic approaches to alcohol decision making, and functional connectivity neuroimaging. We highlighted advances within these four domains and considered them in the context of dual process models of addiction, which focus on the contribution and interplay of two complementary neurocognitive systems (impulsive and control systems). Findings across the domains were generally consistent with dual process models. They also suggest the need for further model refinements, including integrating behavioral economic approaches and findings from functional connectivity neuroimaging studies. Research evaluating candidate interventions associated with these domains is emergent but promising, suggesting important directions for future research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kristen P Lindgren
- Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.
| | - Christian S Hendershot
- Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Jason J Ramirez
- Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Edward Bernat
- Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA
| | | | - Kirsten P Peterson
- Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - James G Murphy
- Department of Psychology, University of Memphis, Memphis, TN, USA
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Obst E, Schad DJ, Huys QJ, Sebold M, Nebe S, Sommer C, Smolka MN, Zimmermann US. Drunk decisions: Alcohol shifts choice from habitual towards goal-directed control in adolescent intermediate-risk drinkers. J Psychopharmacol 2018; 32:855-866. [PMID: 29764270 DOI: 10.1177/0269881118772454] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Studies in humans and animals suggest a shift from goal-directed to habitual decision-making in addiction. We therefore tested whether acute alcohol administration reduces goal-directed and promotes habitual decision-making, and whether these effects are moderated by self-reported drinking problems. METHODS Fifty-three socially drinking males completed the two-step task in a randomised crossover design while receiving an intravenous infusion of ethanol (blood alcohol level=80 mg%), or placebo. To minimise potential bias by long-standing heavy drinking and subsequent neuropsychological impairment, we tested 18- to 19-year-old adolescents. RESULTS Alcohol administration consistently reduced habitual, model-free decisions, while its effects on goal-directed, model-based behaviour varied as a function of drinking problems measured with the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test. While adolescents with low risk for drinking problems (scoring <8) exhibited an alcohol-induced numerical reduction in goal-directed choices, intermediate-risk drinkers showed a shift away from habitual towards goal-directed decision-making, such that alcohol possibly even improved their performance. CONCLUSIONS We assume that alcohol disrupted basic cognitive functions underlying habitual and goal-directed decisions in low-risk drinkers, thereby enhancing hasty choices. Further, we speculate that intermediate-risk drinkers benefited from alcohol as a negative reinforcer that reduced unpleasant emotional states, possibly displaying a novel risk factor for drinking in adolescence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elisabeth Obst
- 1 Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Technische Universität Dresden, Germany
| | - Daniel J Schad
- 2 Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Germany.,3 Social and Preventive Medicine, University of Potsdam, Germany
| | - Quentin Jm Huys
- 4 Institute of Biomedical Engineering, University of Zürich, Switzerland.,5 Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Zürich, Switzerland.,6 Department of Psychiatry, Psychosomatics, and Psychotherapy, University of Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Miriam Sebold
- 2 Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Germany.,3 Social and Preventive Medicine, University of Potsdam, Germany
| | - Stephan Nebe
- 1 Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Technische Universität Dresden, Germany
| | - Christian Sommer
- 1 Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Technische Universität Dresden, Germany
| | - Michael N Smolka
- 1 Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Technische Universität Dresden, Germany
| | - Ulrich S Zimmermann
- 1 Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Technische Universität Dresden, Germany
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Hone LSE, Bartholow BD, Piasecki TM, Sher KJ. Women's Alcohol Sensitivity Predicts Alcohol-Related Regretted Sex. Alcohol Clin Exp Res 2017; 41:1630-1636. [PMID: 28797135 PMCID: PMC5657476 DOI: 10.1111/acer.13447] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/14/2017] [Accepted: 07/05/2017] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Low sensitivity (LS) to alcohol's acute effects is a known risk factor for heavy drinking and its negative consequences. However, LS could be protective due to LS drinkers being less impaired at a given level of consumption. Here, we tested whether LS is associated with differences in men's and women's reports of alcohol-related regretted sex. METHODS Eight hundred and one young adults (393 women) aged 21 to 35 (M = 23.11 years) recruited for a study of alcohol's effects on cognition completed self-report measures of alcohol sensitivity, typical alcohol use, and alcohol consequences (including regretted sex). RESULTS Participants whose alcohol sensitivity scores classified them as LS were more likely to experience alcohol-related regretted sex than were high-sensitivity (HS) participants. However, when controlling for typical alcohol use and experience of alcohol consequences in general, alcohol sensitivity was negatively associated with risk of alcohol-related regretted sex, but only among women. CONCLUSIONS At a given level of consumption, and controlling for experience of alcohol consequences other than regretted sex, reduced sensitivity to certain effects of alcohol may be a protective factor for women against risk for alcohol-related regretted sexual situations. This study provides insight on the unique risks of drinking among LS and HS women.
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Affiliation(s)
- Liana S E Hone
- Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri
| | - Bruce D Bartholow
- Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri
| | - Thomas M Piasecki
- Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri
| | - Kenneth J Sher
- Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri
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