The Willpower Paradox: Possible and Impossible Conceptions of Self-Control

Self-control denotes the ability to override current desires to render behavior consistent with long-term goals. A key assumption is that self-control is required when short-term desires are transiently stronger (more preferred) than long-term goals and people would yield to temptation without exerting self-control. We argue that this widely shared conception of self-control raises a fundamental yet rarely discussed conceptual paradox: How is it possible that a person most strongly desires to perform a behavior (e.g., eat chocolate) and at the same time desires to recruit self-control to prevent themselves from doing it? A detailed analysis reveals that three common assumptions about self-control cannot be true simultaneously. To avoid the paradox, any coherent theory of self-control must abandon either the assumption (a) that recruitment of self-control is an intentional process, or (b) that humans are unitary agents, or (c) that self-control consists in overriding the currently strongest desire. We propose a taxonomy of different kinds of self-control processes that helps organize current theories according to which of these assumptions they abandon. We conclude by outlining unresolved questions and future research perspectives raised by different conceptions of self-control and discuss implications for the question of whether self-control can be considered rational.

Age-differences in network models of self-regulation and executive control functions

Self-regulation (SR) and executive control functions (EF) are broad theoretical concepts that subsume various cognitive abilities supporting the regulation of behavior, thoughts, and emotions (c.f. Inzlicht et al., 2021; Wiebe & Karbach, 2017). However, many of these concepts stem from different psychological disciplines relying on distinct methodologies, such as self-reports (common in SR research) and performance-based tasks (common in EF research). Despite the striking overlap between SR and EF on the theoretical level, recent evidence suggests that correlations between self-report measures and behavioral tasks can be difficult to observe (e.g., Eisenberg et al., 2019). In our study, participants from a life-span sample (14-82 years) completed self-report measures and behavioral tasks, which were selected to include a variety of different facets of SR (e.g., sensation seeking, mindfulness, grit, or eating behavior) and EF (working memory, inhibition, shifting). Using this broad approach, we systematically investigated connections and overlap of different aspects of SR and EF to improve their conceptual understanding. By comparing network models of a youth, middle-aged, and older-aged group, we identified key variables that are well connected in the SR and EF construct space. In general, we found connections to be stronger within the clusters of SR and EF than between them. However, older adults demonstrated more connections between SR and EF than younger individuals, likely because of declining cognitive resources. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Moving beyond Inhibition: Capturing a Broader Scope of the Self-Control Construct with the Self-Control Strategy Scale (SCSS)

The purpose of the present research was to develop a more comprehensive measure of self-control that reflects recent theoretical advancements that extend beyond inhibition. Across six samples (N = 1,946, 48.95% males, Ages 18-76, US-MTurkers/Israelis), we sought to develop and validate the Self-Control Strategies Scale (SCSS), as well as examine its predictive validity across important life domains (e.g., weight, physical activity, savings). The SCSS is comprised of eight self-control strategies that represent three categories: anticipatory control (situation selection, reward, punishment, pre-commitment), down-regulation of temptation (distraction, cognitive change, acceptance), and behavioral inhibition. Results indicate that there was a strong association between the widely used Brief Self-Control Scale (BSCS). and the behavioral inhibition strategy of the SCSS. While the behavioral inhibition strategy was a strong and consistent predictor of most self-control related outcomes, results further indicate that in some domains, but not others, certain strategies may be beneficial whereas others may be detrimental. While inhibition remains to be an important factor of self-control, our findings point to the importance of adapting the use of different strategies to different domains. The SCSS can therefore be used to gain a more fine-grained understanding of the self-control construct.

Eye Tracking Studies Exploring Cognitive and Affective Processes among Alcohol Drinkers: a Systematic Review and Perspectives

Acute alcohol intoxication and alcohol use disorders are characterized by a wide range of psychological and cerebral impairments, which have been widely explored using neuropsychological and neuroscientific techniques. Eye tracking has recently emerged as an innovative tool to renew this exploration, as eye movements offer complementary information on the processes underlying perceptive, attentional, memory or executive abilities. Building on this, the present systematic and critical literature review provides a comprehensive overview of eye tracking studies exploring cognitive and affective processes among alcohol drinkers. Using PRISMA guidelines, 36 papers that measured eye movements among alcohol drinkers were extracted from three databases (PsycINFO, PubMed, Scopus). They were assessed for methodological quality using a standardized procedure, and categorized based on the main cognitive function measured, namely perceptive abilities, attentional bias, executive function, emotion and prevention/intervention. Eye tracking indexes showed that alcohol-related disorders are related to: (1) a stable pattern of basic eye movement impairments, particularly during alcohol intoxication; (2) a robust attentional bias, indexed by increased dwell times for alcohol-related stimuli; (3) a reduced inhibitory control on saccadic movements; (4) an increased pupillary reactivity to visual stimuli, regardless of their emotional content; (5) a limited visual attention to prevention messages. Perspectives for future research are proposed, notably encouraging the exploration of eye movements in severe alcohol use disorders and the establishment of methodological gold standards for eye tracking measures in this field.

Cognitive biases and excessive use of social media: The facebook implicit associations test (FIAT)

Many theoretical accounts of addictive behaviors, including models of Internet use disorders, implicate cognitive biases in the formation and maintenance of excessive behaviors. Yet, little empirical evidence regarding the role of such biases, including implicit attitude, in the development and maintenance of excessive use of social media exists. We seek to bridge this gap in this study. To this end, we present the development of the Facebook Implicit Association Test (FIAT) and employ it in a sample of 220 Facebook users. The results (1) confirm the validity of the concept of implicit attitude and its measure in the context of social media, (2) demonstrate that implicit attitude is significantly positively associated with excessive use scores, in a magnitude similar to that observed for associations with substance use, and (3) show that implicit attitude is sheltered against social desirability bias, unlike self-reported and explicit measures, such as excessive use. Overall, this study builds theoretical and methodological foundations for further inquiries into the role of implicit attitude in research on the excessive use of social media.

Evidence for incentive salience sensitization as a pathway to alcohol use disorder

The incentive salience sensitization (ISS) theory of addiction holds that addictive behavior stems from the ability of drugs to progressively sensitize the brain circuitry that mediates attribution of incentive salience (IS) to reward-predictive cues and its behavioral manifestations. In this article, we establish the plausibility of ISS as an etiological pathway to alcohol use disorder (AUD). We provide a comprehensive and critical review of evidence for: (1) the ability of alcohol to sensitize the brain circuitry of IS attribution and expression; and (2) attribution of IS to alcohol-predictive cues and its sensitization in humans and non-human animals. We point out gaps in the literature and how these might be addressed. We also highlight how individuals with different alcohol subjective response phenotypes may differ in susceptibility to ISS as a pathway to AUD. Finally, we discuss important implications of this neuropsychological mechanism in AUD for psychological and pharmacological interventions attempting to attenuate alcohol craving and cue reactivity.

A systematic review and meta-analysis of the executive function-health behaviour relationship

Objective

This study provides the first comprehensive meta-analysis of the relationship between executive function (EF) and performance of health behaviours in healthy populations.

Method

Electronic databases (MEDLINE, Embase, PsycINFO, Web of Science) were searched, and forward and backward citation tracking was undertaken to identify articles investigating the relationship between EF and health behaviour. Studies were eligible if they examined the direct correlational relationship between EF and health behaviour in healthy populations, were available in English and published in peer-reviewed journals in any year.

Results

Sixty-one articles covering 65 tests were included in a random effects meta-analysis. Several moderators were assessed, including: the type, and addictiveness of the health behaviour; the type of EF measure; study design, and sample characteristics. Overall EF had a significant, but small correlation with health behaviour; EF was significantly positively associated with health-protective behaviours and significantly negatively associated with health-damaging behaviours. There was considerable heterogeneity in the observed effect sizes, but this was not explained by the examined moderators.

Conclusions

Although the meta-analysis indicates a significant effect for EF on health behaviour, effect size is small. Due to the complex nature of EF, more research is required to further elucidate the relationship between EF and health behaviour in its entire conceptualization.

Capture and Control: Working Memory Modulates Attentional Capture by Reward-Related Stimuli

Physically salient but task-irrelevant distractors can capture attention in visual search, but resource-dependent, executive-control processes can help reduce this distraction. However, it is not only physically salient stimuli that grab our attention: Recent research has shown that reward history also influences the likelihood that stimuli will capture attention. Here, we investigated whether resource-dependent control processes modulate the effect of reward on attentional capture, much as for the effect of physical salience. To this end, we used eye tracking with a rewarded visual search task and compared performance under conditions of high and low working memory load. In two experiments, we demonstrated that oculomotor capture by high-reward distractor stimuli is enhanced under high memory load. These results highlight the role of executive-control processes in modulating distraction by reward-related stimuli. Our findings have implications for understanding the neurocognitive processes involved in real-life conditions in which reward-related stimuli may influence behavior, such as addiction.

No effect of attentional bias modification training in methamphetamine users receiving residential treatment

RATIONALE

Attentional bias toward drug-related stimuli is a feature of drug addiction that is linked to craving and drug-seeking behavior.

OBJECTIVES/METHOD

An attentional bias modification (ABM) program was tested in 42 methamphetamine-dependent clients (DSM-IV criteria) receiving residential treatment for their drug use. Participants were randomly assigned to one of two groups (N = 21 each), receiving 12 sessions of either computerized ABM training (designed to train attention away from methamphetamine stimuli 100% of the time) or an attentional control condition (designed to train attention away from methamphetamine stimuli 50% of the time). Outcome measures included attentional bias to methamphetamine-related stimuli on a probe detection task, self-reported craving, and preferences to view methamphetamine-related images on a Simulated Drug Choice Task. A subset of participants (N = 17) also underwent fMRI in a cue-induced craving paradigm.

RESULTS

Poor split-half reliability was observed for the probe detection task. Using this task, attentional bias toward methamphetamine-related stimuli was greater after training than at baseline, irrespective of group (p = 0.037). Spontaneous and cue-induced methamphetamine craving diminished with time (ps < 0.01), but ABM training did not influence these effects (group by time interactions, ps > 0.05). ABM training did not influence selection of methamphetamine-related pictures in the Simulated Drug Choice task (p > 0.05). In the fMRI assessment, cue-induced activation in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex was reduced over time, without an effect of ABM training.

CONCLUSIONS

ABM training did not improve several clinically relevant variables in treatment-seeking methamphetamine users. Additional research is needed to improve the measurement of attentional bias.

Free will in addictive behaviors: A matter of definition

Certain people are at risk for using alcohol or other drugs excessively and for developing problems with their use. Their susceptibility might arise from a variety of factors, including their genetic make-up, brain chemistry, family background, personality and other psychological variables, and environmental and sociocultural variables. Moreover, after substance use has become established, there are additional cognitive-motivational variables (e.g., substance-related attentional bias) that contribute to enacting behaviors consistent with the person's motivation to acquire and use the substance. People who are at such risk are likely to choose to use addictive substances even though doing so entails negative consequences. In the sense of complete freedom from being determined by causal factors, we believe that there is no such thing as free will, but defined as ability to make choices from among multiple options, even though the choices are ultimately governed by natural processes, addicted individuals are free to choose. Although they might appear unable to exercise this kind of free will in decisions about their substance use, addictive behaviors are ultimately always goal-directed and voluntary. Such goal pursuits manifest considerable flexibility. Even some severely addicted individuals can cease their use when the value of continuing the use abruptly declines or when the subjective cost of continuing the use is too great with respect to the incentives in other areas of their lives. Formal treatment strategies (e.g., contingency management, Systematic Motivational Counseling, cognitive training) can also be used to facilitate this reversal.

Working memory test battery for young adults: Computerized working memory assessment

This study developed a battery of computerized working memory (WM) tests and a scoring system suitable for young adult users. The tests comprised five classic tasks derived from Baddeley's model of WM, reflecting each of the five WM functions. We recruited 115 undergraduate and graduate students from various academic fields and constructed a preliminary WM scoring norm for young adults. The scoring norm was used as a basis for developing a computerized assessment system. The results of correlation analysis show that the fluid intelligence of young adults is related to the memory function of WM, but not to the central executive system. The proposed working memory test battery for young adults comprehensively reflects the WM capacity of adults.

Attentional bias in problematic drinkers with and without mild to borderline intellectual disability

BACKGROUND

Problematic drinkers favour the processing of alcohol-related stimuli at the cost of other stimuli and also find it difficult to disengage their attention from these stimuli. This is indicative of an attentional bias towards alcohol. The goal of this study was to examine this bias in problematic drinkers with and without mild to borderline intellectual disability (MBID) using both eye tracking methodology and behavioural data (i.e. reaction time (RT) data).

METHOD

Participants (N = 133) were divided into four groups based on (estimated) full scale intelligence quotient (IQ) and severity of alcohol use-related problems. The severity of substance use-related problems was assessed with the Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test (AUDIT). The visual dot probe task was used to measure the attentional bias. We analysed both eye tracking data and behavioural data (i.e. RT data) of the visual dot probe task.

RESULTS

Problematic drinkers were not more likely than light drinkers to direct their attention towards pictures of alcoholic beverages, did not look at these pictures longer than light drinkers and did also not respond faster than light drinkers to probes replacing pictures of alcoholic beverages. However, the strength of the attentional bias varied profusely.

CONCLUSION

Taking the large variability in the strength of the attentional bias and the poor psychometric qualities of the measures into consideration, it is concluded that the use of these measures for clinical purposes is discouraged.

Decomposing Self-Control: Individual Differences in Goal Pursuit Despite Interfering Aversion, Temptation, and Distraction

Self-control can be defined as the ability to exert control over ones impulses. Currently, most research in the area relies on self-report. Focusing on attentional control processes involved in self-control, we modified a spatial selective attentional cueing task to test three domains of self-control experimentally in one task using aversive, tempting, and neutral picture-distractors. The aims of the study were (1) to investigate individual differences in the susceptibility to aversive, tempting, and neutral distraction within one paradigm and (2) to test the association of these three self-control domains to conventional measures of self-control including self-report. The final sample consisted of 116 participants. The task required participants to identify target letters "E" or "F" presented at a cued target location while the distractors were presented. Behavioral and eyetracking data were obtained during the performance of the task. High task performance was encouraged via monetary incentives. In addition to the attentional self-control task, self-reported self-control was assessed and participants performed a color Stroop task, an unsolvable anagram task and a delay of gratification task using chocolate sweets. We found that aversion, temptation, and neutral distraction were associated with significantly increased error rates, reaction times and gaze pattern deviations. Overall task performance on our task correlated with self-reported self-control ability. Measures of aversion, temptation, and distraction showed moderate split-half reliability, but did not correlate with each other across participants. Additionally, participants who made a self-controlled decision in the delay of gratification task were less distracted by temptations in our task than participants who made an impulsive choice. Our individual differences analyses suggest that (1) the ability to endure aversion, resist temptations and ignore neutral distractions are independent of each other and (2) these three domains are related to other measures of self-control.

Reward sensitivity, attentional bias, and executive control in early adolescent alcohol use

This study examined whether attentional bias for alcohol stimuli was associated with alcohol use in young adolescents, and whether the frequently demonstrated relationship between reward sensitivity and adolescent alcohol use would be partly mediated by attentional bias for alcohol cues. In addition, this study investigated the potential moderating role of executive control (EC), and tested whether the relationship between alcohol-related attentional bias and alcohol use was especially present in young adolescents with weak EC. Participants were 86 adolescents (mean age=14.86), who completed a Visual Probe Task (VPT) as an index of attentional bias, a flanker-task based Attention Network Task (ANT) as an index of EC, the sensitivity of punishment and sensitivity of reward questionnaire (SPSRQ) as an index of reward sensitivity, and an alcohol use questionnaire. High reward sensitivity, high alcohol-related attentional bias, and weak EC were all related to alcohol use. The relationship between reward sensitivity and alcohol use was not mediated by alcohol-related attentional bias. As hypothesized, attentional bias was only associated with alcohol use in participants with weak EC. Together, the present findings are consistent with the view that high reward sensitivity and low EC may be considered as risk factors for adolescent alcohol use. The independent contribution of reward sensitivity and attentional bias might suggest that adolescents who are highly reward sensitive and display an attentional bias for alcohol cues are at even higher risk for excessive alcohol use and developing alcohol abuse problems. Future research using a longitudinal approach would allow an examination of these risk factors on subsequent alcohol use. Treatment implications are discussed, including the importance of strengthening EC and reducing the rewarding value of alcohol use.

Self-perceived successful weight regulators are less affected by self-regulatory depletion in the domain of eating behavior

Weight loss and maintenance goals are highly prevalent in many affluent societies, but many weight regulators are not successful in the long term. Research started to reveal psychological mechanisms that help successful weight regulators in being successful. In the present study, we tested the assumption that these mechanisms facilitate successful self-regulation particularly under conditions of self-regulatory depletion. Participants exerted or did not exert self-control in a first task before engaging in a taste test of a tempting but unhealthy food. Participants who had initially exerted self-control ate more than participants in the control condition. This effect was reduced in self-perceived successful weight regulators as compared to perceived unsuccessful self-regulators. A reduced susceptibility to self-regulatory depletion may be an important contributor to long-term weight regulation success in successful weight regulators.

Cognitive control in the self-regulation of physical activity and sedentary behavior

Cognitive control of physical activity and sedentary behavior is receiving increased attention in the neuroscientific and behavioral medicine literature as a means of better understanding and improving the self-regulation of physical activity. Enhancing individuals' cognitive control capacities may provide a means to increase physical activity and reduce sedentary behavior. First, this paper reviews emerging evidence of the antecedence of cognitive control abilities in successful self-regulation of physical activity, and in precipitating self-regulation failure that predisposes to sedentary behavior. We then highlight the brain networks that may underpin the cognitive control and self-regulation of physical activity, including the default mode network, prefrontal cortical networks and brain regions and pathways associated with reward. We then discuss research on cognitive training interventions that document improved cognitive control and that suggest promise of influencing physical activity regulation. Key cognitive training components likely to be the most effective at improving self-regulation are also highlighted. The review concludes with suggestions for future research.

Believing is seeing: fixation duration predicts implicit negative attitudes

A prototypical finding of social cognition is that social experiences influence later performance even though those experiences are not introspectively available. Building on social cognition research on implicit attitudes, we evaluate whether ethnic category/attribute pairs influence eye movements during the Implicit Association Test (IAT, Greenwald, McGhee, & Schwartz 1998). Results show that fixation duration predicted implicit attitudes such that when the category/attribute pairs disconfirmed one's implicit negative attitude fixation duration toward that pair increased. The present research provides evidence that eye movements and implicit processes inherent in the IAT are more broadly connected than previously thought.

Attentional bias modification for addictive behaviors: clinical implications

When a person has a goal of drinking alcohol or using another addictive substance, the person appears to be automatically distracted by stimuli related to the goal. Because the attentional bias might propel the person to use the substance, an intervention might help modify it. In this article, we discuss techniques that have been developed to help people overcome their attentional bias for alcohol, smoking-related stimuli, drugs, or unhealthy food. We also discuss how these techniques are being adapted for use on mobile devices. The latter would allow people with an addictive behavior to use the attentional training in privacy and as frequently as needed. The attentional training techniques discussed here appear to have several advantages. They are inexpensive, can be fun to use, and have flexibility in when, where, and how often they are used. The evidence so far also suggests that they are effective.

On the relationship between the indirectly measured attitude towards beer and beer consumption: the role of attitude accessibility

Although some studies have demonstrated that the indirectly measured attitude towards alcohol is related to alcohol use, this relationship has not always been confirmed. In the current study, we attempted to shed light on this issue by investigating whether the predictive validity of an indirect attitude measure is dependent upon attitude accessibility. In a sample of 88 students, the picture-picture naming task, an adaptation of the affective priming paradigm, was used to measure the automatically activated attitude towards beer. Attitude accessibility was measured using a speeded evaluative categorization task. Behavioral measures were the amount of beer poured and drunk during a bogus taste test and the choice between a bottle of beer or water at the end of the experiment. In line with our hypothesis, the indirectly measured attitude towards beer predicted behavior during the taste test only when it was highly accessible. In contrast, this attitude was related to choice behavior irrespective of attitude accessibility. This study confirms that indirect attitude measures can be valuable predictors of alcohol-related behavior, but that it is sometimes necessary to take attitude accessibility into account.

Dysfunctions of decision-making and cognitive control as transdiagnostic mechanisms of mental disorders: advances, gaps, and needs in current research

Disadvantageous decision-making and impaired volitional control over actions, thoughts, and emotions are characteristics of a wide range of mental disorders such as addiction, eating disorders, depression, and anxiety disorders and may reflect transdiagnostic core mechanisms and possibly vulnerability factors. Elucidating the underlying neurocognitive mechanisms is a precondition for moving from symptom-based to mechanism-based disorder classifications and ultimately mechanism-targeted interventions. However, despite substantial advances in basic research on decision-making and cognitive control, there are still profound gaps in our current understanding of dysfunctions of these processes in mental disorders. Central unresolved questions are: (i) to which degree such dysfunctions reflect transdiagnostic mechanisms or disorder-specific patterns of impairment; (ii) how phenotypical features of mental disorders relate to dysfunctional control parameter settings and aberrant interactions between large-scale brain systems involved in habit and reward-based learning, performance monitoring, emotion regulation, and cognitive control; (iii) whether cognitive control impairments are consequences or antecedent vulnerability factors of mental disorders; (iv) whether they reflect generalized competence impairments or context-specific performance failures; (v) whether not only impaired but also chronic over-control contributes to mental disorders. In the light of these gaps, needs for future research are: (i) an increased focus on basic cognitive-affective mechanisms underlying decision and control dysfunctions across disorders; (ii) longitudinal-prospective studies systematically incorporating theory-driven behavioural tasks and neuroimaging protocols to assess decision-making and control dysfunctions and aberrant interactions between underlying large-scale brain systems; (iii) use of latent-variable models of cognitive control rather than single tasks; (iv) increased focus on the interplay of implicit and explicit cognitive-affective processes; (v) stronger focus on computational models specifying neurocognitive mechanisms underlying phenotypical expressions of mental disorders.

Cannabis dependence, cognitive control and attentional bias for cannabis words

One of the characteristics of people suffering from addictive behaviors is the tendency to be distracted by drug cues. This attentional bias for drug cues is thought to lead to increased craving and drug use, and may draw individuals into a vicious cycle of drug addiction. In the current study we developed a Dutch version of the cannabis Stroop task and measured attentional bias for cannabis words in a group of heavy cannabis users and matched controls. The classical Stroop task was used as a global measure of cognitive control and we examined the relationship between cognitive control, cannabis-related problems, cannabis craving and cannabis attentional bias. Using our version of the cannabis Stroop task, a group of heavy cannabis users showed attentional bias to cannabis words, whereas a control group of non-users did not. Furthermore, within the group of cannabis users, those who were clinically recognized as dependent showed a stronger attentional bias than the heavy, non-dependent users. Cannabis users who displayed reduced cognitive control (as measured with the classical Stroop task) showed increased session-induced craving. Contrary to expectations, however, cognitive control did not appear to modulate the relationship between attentional bias to cannabis words (cannabis Stroop task) and cannabis dependence. This study confirmed the relationship between cannabis dependence and attentional bias and extends this by highlighting a moderating role for cognitive control, which may make some more vulnerable to craving.

Alcohol-related biases in selective attention and action tendency make distinct contributions to dysregulated drinking behaviour

AIMS

To assess whether alcohol-related biases in selective-attention and action tendency uniquely or concurrently predict the ability to regulate alcohol consumption.

DESIGN AND PARTICIPANTS

Two groups of undergraduate social drinkers (total n = 55) who differed in their ability to regulate their alcohol consumption completed a novel Selective-Attention/Action-Tendency Task (SA/ATT), which assessed separately alcohol-related biases in selective attention and action tendency.

SETTING

University of Western Australia, Australia.

MEASUREMENT

Dysregulated drinking was operationalized as a self-reported high level of alcohol consumption on the Alcohol Consumption Questionnaire, and a high desire to reduce consumption on the Brief Readiness to Change Algorithm. Selective attention and action tendency were assessed using the SA/ATT, working memory was assessed using the operation-span task and participant characteristics were assessed using the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) and Stages of Change Readiness and Treatment Eagerness Scale (SOCRATES).

FINDINGS

Results indicated that (i) there was no significant association between alcohol-related biases in selective attention and action tendency, r = 0.16, P = 0.274, and (ii) biases towards alcohol, in both selective attention, β = 1.01, odds ratio = 2.74, P = 0.022, and action tendency, β = 1.24, odds ratio = 3.45, P = 0.015, predicted independent variance in dysregulated-drinker status.

CONCLUSION

Biases in selective attention and action tendency appear to be distinct mechanisms that contribute independently to difficulty regulating alcohol consumption. Treatment components that could be combined to target both mechanisms could enhance treatment outcomes for alcohol-use disorders.

Hard to Ignore

This research focuses on the attentional processes that underlie buying impulsiveness. It was hypothesized that impulsive buyers are more likely than nonimpulsive buyers to get distracted by products that are unrelated to their shopping goal. The study applied a 2 (buying impulsiveness low vs. high) × 2 (shopping vs. nonshopping context) × 2 (product vs. nonsemantic distractors) mixed design. Participants’ attention allocation was measured via eye tracking during a visual distraction paradigm. The results support the distraction hypothesis. Impulsive buyers allocated less attention to a focal product than nonimpulsive buyers. The effect was context-specific and emerged only when the task was framed as a shopping situation. The results show that distraction is not limited to attractive products and suggest that it is driven by a general attentional openness for products in shopping situations.

Cognitive biases in individuals with mild to borderline intellectual disability and alcohol use-related problems

The primary aim of the present pilot study was to examine cognitive biases in individuals with mild to borderline ID and alcohol use-related problems. Participants (N=57) performed the approach avoidance task, picture rating task and visual dot probe task, which was combined with eye-tracking methodology. They were admitted to a forensic setting and were all abstinent and undergoing treatment at the time of testing. Three groups were formed based on the severity of alcohol use-related problems as measured by the AUDIT. In line with the expectations, no differences were found between participants based on the severity of their alcohol use-related problems. In addition, three groups were formed based on IQ to assess the relationship between IQ and the strength of the cognitive biases. There were also no differences between individuals with mild or borderline ID and individuals with (below) average IQ on any of the variables. It is concluded that computer tasks such as these can be used in individuals with mild to borderline ID. As the results suggest no influence of IQ on the strength of cognitive biases, this study opens up new opportunities for future research on the application of measuring cognitive biases in screening, diagnosing and treating individuals with mild to borderline ID and alcohol use-related problems.

The moderating role of working memory capacity and alcohol-specific rule-setting on the relation between approach tendencies and alcohol use in young adolescents

BACKGROUND

Dual process models of alcohol addiction propose that the transition from normative alcohol consumption to heavy drinking is the result of an imbalance in interplay between relatively impulsive or automatic and reflective or controlled processes. The current study examines whether impulsive and reflective processes are also detectable in a sample of adolescents with limited alcohol use.

METHODS

Specifically, we tested the interaction between alcohol approach tendencies and 2 types of reflective processes, working memory capacity (WMC) and alcohol-specific rule-setting, on changes in alcohol use of 238 young adolescents (mean age: 13.82 years). Gender differences in these associations were also explored.

RESULTS

Results showed that WMC did not moderate the relation between approach tendencies and subsequent alcohol use, whereas rule-setting did, with stronger associations between approach tendencies and alcohol use for male adolescents reporting more permissive parents than male adolescents with parents enforcing stricter rules involving alcohol use. Associations between approach tendencies and subsequent alcohol use did not emerge for female adolescents.

CONCLUSIONS

Results indicate that even in a sample of adolescents with limited drinking experience, automatic processes are positively associated with alcohol use for male adolescents that are not motivated by parents to control their drinking.

Executive functions and self-regulation

Self-regulation is a core aspect of adaptive human behavior that has been studied, largely in parallel, through the lenses of social and personality psychology as well as cognitive psychology. Here, we argue for more communication between these disciplines and highlight recent research that speaks to their connection. We outline how basic facets of executive functioning (working memory operations, behavioral inhibition, and task-switching) may subserve successful self-regulation. We also argue that temporary reductions in executive functions underlie many of the situational risk factors identified in the social psychological research on self-regulation and review recent evidence that the training of executive functions holds significant potential for improving poor self-regulation in problem populations.

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.