Craving and attentional bias respond differently to alcohol priming: a field study in the pub

Background: Several experimental laboratory studies have shown that subjective craving for alcohol increases as a result of low-to-moderate levels of alcohol consumption. Less is known about alcohol prime effects on relatively automatic appetitive motivational processes such as attentional bias (AB). Also, it is not known whether the effects from laboratory studies can be generalized to real-life drinking environments, and whether effects change after higher alcohol doses than those that have been administered in lab studies. Method: In two pubs, we investigated alcohol prime dose effects in self-reported craving and AB, measured by a modified Flicker Paradigm. We included an opportunistic sample of 72 social drinkers who had been drinking various amounts of alcohol. Results: Self-reported craving was positively predicted by dose of alcohol consumed, from one up to 16 drinks. In contrast, AB was negatively predicted by dose consumed in participants who had been binge drinking. Conclusion: This field study validates earlier experimental research on alcohol prime effects in a real drinking situation. Further, it demonstrates prime effects up to much higher alcohol doses than in previous lab studies. Copyright (C) 2009 S. Karger AG, Basel