Affect misattribution as a learning mechanism in evaluative conditioning on alcohol cognition and intention to drink

Abstract

Alcohol cognition are acquired via two distinct but partially overlapping systems: a conscious deliberative system (reflexive) and an non-conscious associative system (impulsive). In this view, alcohol consumption is due to a failure in regulating impulses toward alcohol. Our objective is to develop an evaluative conditioning procedure impacting specifically the impulsive system, by bolstering affect misattribution. Participants (n=137) went through a 2 (contingency awareness: inclusion vs exclusion) x2 (stimulus presentation: simultaneous vs sequential) x2 (valence of US : neutral vs negative). Implicit and explicit attitudes and behavioral intentions have been assessed after and one week after the protocol. Since affect misattribution depend on source confusability, simultaneous presentation will have a stronger effect on implicit attitudes and lead to less contingency awareness. Results show that negative conditioning in the simultaneous condition have a stronger impact on implicit but not on explicit measures and on behavioral intention at one week. A stronger attitude parameter in the simultaneous condition has been obtained. Relevance of dual-process models and the effectiveness of conditioning in alcohol use will be discussed.