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A pictorial Stroop paradigm reveals an alcohol attentional bias in heavier compared to lighter social drinkersDepartment of Psychology, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK
Department of Psychology, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK, barry{at}psy.gla.ac.uk The findings obtained with the textual Stroop paradigm, testing for an attentional bias towards alcohol stimuli in heavier compared to lighter social drinkers, are limited in number and inconsistent in outcome. Using a pictorial rather than textual Stroop paradigm for the first time in alcohol research, a significant alcohol attentional bias is reported in heavier social drinkers compared to lighter social drinking controls. According to Cohens scheme, the signifant effect size is classified as large. The presence of an alcohol attentional bias helps to explain the perpetuation of abusive/dependent consumption and the frequency of post-treatment relapse. In a similar vein, these results add to the evidence that a differential alcohol attentional bias might also be present between two levels of social drinking and, in heavier social drinkers, has the potential to impact on the contents of awareness and the flow of thought towards alcohol. In this respect, it extends the small group of other perceptual-cognitive effects measured in social drinkers (alcohol cue reactions, alcohol associations and alcohol expectancies) that can influence the initiation of consumption in some social drinkers.
Key Words: alcohol consumption alcohol Stroop attentional bias cognitive bias emotional Stroop implicit cognition information processing bias pictorial Stroop social drinkers
Journal of Psychopharmacology, Vol. 18, No. 4,
527-533 (2004) This article has been cited by other articles:
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