A cognitive model of binge drinking: The influence of alcohol expectancies and drinking refusal self-efficacy

While binge drinking-episodic or irregular consumption of excessive amounts of alcohol-is recognised as a serious problem affecting our youth, to date there has been a lack of psychological theory and thus theoretically driven research into this problem. The current paper develops a cognitive model using the key constructs of alcohol expectancies (AEs) and drinking refusal self-efficacy (DRSE) to explain the acquisition and maintenance of binge drinking. It is suggested that the four combinations of the AE and DRSE can explain the four drinking styles. These are normal/social drinkers, binge drinkers, regular heavy drinkers, and problem drinkers or alcoholics. Since AE and DRSE are cognitive constructs and therefore modifiable, the cognitive model can thus facilitate the design of intervention and-prevention strategies for binge drinking. (C) 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

When expectancies harm comprehension : Encoding flexibility in impression formation

Peer reviewed

When expectancies harm comprehension : Encoding flexibility in impression formation

Peer reviewed

O resgate da memoria no trabalho com os idosos : o papel da educação fisica

Universidade Estadual de Campinas . Faculdade de Educação Física

TRAVELLING THROUGH PITCH SPACE SPEEDS UP MUSICAL TIME

SEVERAL MODELS OF TIME ESTIMATION HAVE BEEN developed in psychology; a few have been applied to music. In the present study, we assess the influence of the distances travelled through pitch space on retrospective time estimation. Participants listened to an isochronous chord sequence of 20-s duration. They were unexpectedly asked to reproduce the time interval of the sequence. The harmonic structure of the stimulus was manipulated so that the sequence either remained in the same key (CC) or travelled through a closely related key (CFC) or distant key (CGbC). Estimated times were shortened when the sequence modulated to a very distant key. This finding is discussed in light of Lerdahl's Tonal Pitch Space Theory (2001), Firmino and Bueno's Expected Development Fraction Model (in press), and models of time estimation.

Young children, adolescents and alcohol - Part I: Exploring knowledge and awareness of alcohol and related issues

This article explores young children's and adolescents' views pertaining to: knowledge and awareness of alcohol and alcohol related issues; social situations in which. alcohol use is present; orientation to alcohol risk; perceived and actual alcohol use; social image and reputation; and short and long term health beliefs in relation to alcohol. Forty focus groups were conducted with 240 primary school students (118 males and 122 females) and 24 focus groups were conducted with 192 high school students (90 males and 102 females); the total being 64 focus groups comprising 432 school students. Participants ages ranged from five years three months to 16 years 10 months. The videotaped discussions revealed that approximately 75% of the primary school-aged children and almost all of the high school students reported that they had tasted alcohol. Parents were primarily responsible for providing the alcohol. Virtually all participants recognised and were able to correctly name a selection of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, and levels of knowledge and awareness of the health and safety aspects of alcohol were relatively mixed. Presentation of bottles and cans was reported as being important in attracting young persons. These data suggest there is an urgent need for research addressed to the development of prevention/intervention education curriculum materials for use with primary school-aged children.

Gender differences in drinking restraint

Objective: This study examines the factor structure and the predictive power of drinking restraint for men and women as measured by the Temptation and Restraint Inventory (TRI). The TRI assesses two factors: Cognitive-Emotional Preoccupation (CEP) and Cognitive-Behavioral Control (CBC). Method: A group of 418 drinkers was drawn from a university sample and divided by gender into two groups. Men (n = 122) were of a mean age (+/-SD) of 23 +/- 7 years; women (n = 296) were of a mean age of 22.5 +/- 8 years. Subjects completed the TRI and the Alcohol Dependence Scale (ADS) and validated quantity and frequency of drinking indices. Results: Drinking restraint for the men was found to better predict alcohol dependence, quantity of drinking and frequency of drinking. Moreover, two factors confirming the TRI's CEP and CBC model were extracted for the men, but only one factor was extracted for the women. Conclusions: It was proposed that, as men tend to drink greater amounts of alcohol more often, they have learned to distinguish more clearly the conflicts in their personal control over drinking. If the TRI is to be used as a diagnostic and treatment tool, it is recommended that clinicians be cognizant of possible gender differences in restrained drinking behavior.

Expectancy-based associative and identity priming in pronunciation

Evidence for expectancy-based priming in the pronunciation task was provided in three experiments. In Experiments 1 and 2, a high proportion of associatively related trials produced greater associative priming and superior retrieval of primes in a subsequent test of memory for primes, whereas high- and low-proportion groups showed comparable repetition benefits in perceptual identification of previously presented primes. In Experiment 2, the low-proportion condition had few associatively related pairs hut many identity pairs. In Experiment 3, identity priming was greater in a high- than a low-identity proportion group, with similar repetition benefits and prime retrieval responses for the two groups. These results indicate that when the prime-target relationship is salient, subjects strategically vary their processing of the prime according to the nature of the prime-target relationship.

A NEUROECONOMIC MODELING OF ATTENTION-DEFICIT/HYPERACTIVITY DISORDER (ADHD)

In this paper we present a new neuroeconomics model for decision-making applied to the Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). The model is based on the hypothesis that decision-making is dependent on the evaluation of expected rewards and risks assessed simultaneously in two decision spaces: the personal (PDS) and the interpersonal emotional spaces (IDS). Motivation to act is triggered by necessities identified in PDS or IDS. The adequacy of an action in fulfilling a given necessity is assumed to be dependent on the expected reward and risk evaluated in the decision spaces. Conflict generated by expected reward and risk influences the easiness (cognitive effort) and the future perspective of the decision-making. Finally, the willingness (not) to act is proposed to be a function of the expected reward (or risk), adequacy, easiness and future perspective. The two most frequent clinical forms are ADHD hyperactive (AD/HDhyp) and ADHD inattentive (AD/HDdin). AD/HDhyp behavior is hypothesized to be a consequence of experiencing high rewarding expectancies for short periods of time, low risk evaluation, and short future perspective for decision-making. AD/HDin is hypothesized to be a consequence of experiencing high rewarding expectancies for long periods of time, low risk evaluation, and long future perspective for decision-making.

Gender stereotypes and drinking cognitions as indicators of moderate and high risk drinking among young women and men

The study examined differences in gender stereotypes, restrained drinking and self-efficacy for alcohol refusal between moderate and high risk drinkers among a university sample of 301 women and 118 men. Both female and male high risk drinkers displayed a response conflict, typified by high scores on restrained drinking but low scores on self-efficacy. This pattern of response conflict was more pronounced for high risk drinking women, who also identified poorly with feminine trails (e.g. 'nurturing', 'love children', 'appreciative'). The findings are discussed in relation to society's double standard that accepts intoxication in men but condemns it in women. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Modification of induced ischaemic pain by placebo electrotherapy

Quantifying the analgesic effect of placebo electrotherapy is an important part of understanding the placebo response in physiotherapy. This repeated measures study of induced ischaemic pain compared reports of pain threshold, pain tolerance, and pain endurance under three conditions: control, placebo interferential, and placebo TENS. Both of the placebo conditions significantly delayed the report of pain threshold. Placebo interferential also delayed pain tolerance. Each placebo condition reduced pain intensity in the 6th minute. Only placebo TENS reduced pain at the 9th minute of ischaemic pain. The nature of pain reduction in the placebo conditions suggests that analgesia was due to learned expectancies and endogenous opioid release. Further research into the impact of positive expectancies of pain relief in our patients could clarify the efficacy of physiotherapy outcomes for pain.