Synthetic contraceptive hormones occlude the ability of nicotine to reduce ethanol consumption in ovary-intact female rats.

Rates of tobacco and alcohol use in women are rising, and women are more vulnerable than men to escalating tobacco and alcohol use. Many women use hormonal birth control, with the oral contraceptive pill being the most prevalent. Oral contraceptives contain both a progestin (synthetic progesterone) and a synthetic estrogen (ethinyl estradiol; EE) and are contraindicated for women over 35 years who smoke. Despite this, no studies have examined how synthetic contraceptive hormones impact this pattern of polysubstance use in females. To address this critical gap in the field, we treated ovary-intact female rats with either sesame oil (vehicle), the progestin levonorgestrel (LEVO; contained in formulations such as Alesse®), or the combination of EE+LEVO in addition to either undergoing single (nicotine or saline) or polydrug (nicotine and ethanol; EtOH) self-administration (SA) in a sequential use model. Rats preferred EtOH over water following extended EtOH drinking experience as well as after nicotine or saline SA experience, and rats undergoing only nicotine SA (water controls) consumed more nicotine as compared to rats co-using EtOH and nicotine. Importantly, this effect was occluded in groups treated with contraceptive hormones. In the sequential use group, both LEVO alone and the EE+LEVO combination occluded the ability of nicotine to decrease EtOH consumption. Interestingly, demand experiments suggest an economic substitute effect between nicotine and EtOH. Together, we show that chronic synthetic hormone exposure impacts nicotine and EtOH sequential use, demonstrating the crucial need to understand how chronic use of different contraceptive formulations alter patterns of polydrug use in women.

Hyperbolic discounting and exponentiated demand: Modeling demand for cigarettes in three dimensions.

Behavioral economics has been a fruitful area of research in substance use. Mathematical descriptions of how individuals temporally discount the value of a commodity have been correlated with substance use and mathematical descriptions of drug consumption decreasing as a function of price (i.e., demand) predict maladaptive substance use. While there is a logical assumption that temporal factors affect demand for a drug, little has been done to merge these models. Thus, the purpose of this study was to combine models of discounting and demand, extending Howard Rachlin's work and contributions to novel areas of study. Data from 85 participants from Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk) who completed a hypothetical cigarette purchase task that included price of and delay to cigarettes were analyzed. Multilevel modeling was used to determine descriptive accuracy of combined additive and multiplicative models of discounting and demand. Of the discounting models used in conjunction with the exponentiated demand equation, the Rachlin hyperboloid best described the delay dimension of consumption. The multiplicative version of the Rachlin equation applied to both delay and price outperformed other models tested. Therefore, existing models of discounting and demand can be extended to modeling consumption data from complex multidimensional experimental arrangements.

Illegal Experimental Tobacco Marketplace II: effects of vaping product bans - findings from the 2020 International Tobacco Control Project.

SIGNIFICANCE: Restrictive e-cigarette policies may increase purchases from illegal sources. The Illegal Experimental Tobacco Marketplace (IETM) allows examination of how restrictions impact illegal purchases. We investigated (1) the effect of a vaping ban, total flavour vaping ban and partial flavour vaping ban on the probability of purchasing illegal vaping products among different regulatory environments (USA, Canada and England) and tobacco user types (cigarette smokers, dual users and e-cigarette users); and (2) the relation between ban endorsement and illegal purchases. METHODS: Participants (N=459) from the International Tobacco Control Survey rated their support of bans and chose to purchase from a hypothetical legal experimental tobacco marketplace or IETM under control and the three ban conditions. RESULTS: In total, 25% of cigarette smokers, 67% of dual users and 79% of e-cigarette users made IETM purchases. Cross-country comparisons depicted dual users from Canada (OR: 19.8), and e-cigarette users from the USA (OR: 12.9) exhibited higher illegal purchases odds than the same user type in England. Within-country comparisons showed e-cigarette and dual users are more likely to purchase from the IETM than cigarette smokers in the most restrictive condition, with the largest effects in e-cigarette users (England-OR: 1722.6, USA-OR: 22725.3, Canada-OR: 6125.0). Increased opposition towards partial or total flavour ban was associated with increased IETM purchasing in the corresponding condition. CONCLUSIONS: Vaping restrictions may shift users' preference to the illegal marketplace in a regulatory environment. Evidence of the IETM generalisability in a geographically dispersed sample enhances its utility in tobacco regulatory science.

Using crowdsourcing to study the differential effects of cross-drug withdrawal for cigarettes and opioids in a behavioral economic demand framework.

Smoking rates among those who use prescribed or recreational opioids are significantly higher than the general population. Hypothesized neuropharmacological interactions between opioids and nicotine may contribute to this pattern of polysubstance use, especially during withdrawal. However, little research has examined how the withdrawal of one substance may affect the consumption of the other (i.e., cross-drug withdrawal effects). Behavioral economic demand tasks (e.g., hypothetical purchase tasks) can be used to quickly assess the value of a drug. Crowdsourcing can be a convenient tool to gain preliminary insight into different processes in substance valuation that may otherwise be impossible or prohibitively difficult to study. The purpose of the present study was to provide a preliminary examination of the effects of hypothetical withdrawal of cigarettes and opioids on the consumption of those drugs among polysubstance users. Amazon Mechanical Turk workers who reported daily smoking and at least monthly opioid use completed a series of hypothetical purchase tasks for doses of opioids and cigarettes under various withdrawal conditions. Sensitivity to the price of both drugs decreased when under withdrawal for either, indicating a higher drug value of cigarettes and opioids due to effects of cross-drug withdrawal. Nicotine and opioid dependence severity, impulsive choice, and riskiness were also positively related to drug purchasing. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Blood Nicotine Predicts the Behavioral Economic Abuse Liability of Reduced-Nicotine Cigarettes.

BACKGROUND: Cigarette smoking continues to be a major health concern and remains the leading preventable cause of death in the US. Recent efforts have been made to determine the potential health and policy benefits of reducing nicotine in combustible cigarettes. The degree to which changes in blood nicotine relate to measures of the abuse liability of reduced-nicotine cigarettes is unknown. The current study examined the relation between blood nicotine and behavioral economic demand measures of cigarettes differing in nicotine content. METHODS: Using a within-subject design, participants smoked a single cigarette during each experimental session. Cigarettes included the participant's usual-brand cigarette and SPECTRUM investigational cigarette differing in nicotine level (mg of nicotine to g of tobacco; 15.8 mg/g, 5.2 mg/g, 2.4 mg/g, 1.3 mg/g, and 0.4 mg/g). During each session, blood was collected at multiple timepoints and behavioral economic demand was assessed. Nonlinear mixed-effects models were used to estimate differences in derived intensity (Q0) and change in elasticity (α). RESULTS: Measures of blood nicotine decreased in an orderly fashion related to nicotine level and significantly predicted change in elasticity (α), but not derived intensity. No differences in demand parameters between the usual brand and 15.8mg/g cigarettes were observed. However, α was significantly higher (lower valuation) for 0.4mg/g than 15.8mg/g cigarettes. CONCLUSIONS: The lowest nicotine level (0.4mg/g) corresponded with the lowest abuse liability (α) compared to the full-strength control (15.8mg/g), with the 1.3mg/g level also resulting in low abuse liability. IMPLICATIONS: This is the first study examining the relative contributions of nicotine content in cigarettes and blood nicotine levels on the behavioral economic demand abuse liability of cigarettes ranging in nicotine content. Our results suggest blood nicotine and nicotine content both predict behavioral economic demand abuse liability. In addition, our results suggest a nicotine content of 1.3mg/g or lower may be effective at reducing cigarette uptake among first-time (naïve) smokers. Our results largely conform to previous findings suggesting a very low nicotine content cigarette maintains lower abuse liability than full-strength cigarettes.

Remotely administered incentive-based treatment for alcohol use disorder with participant-funded incentives is effective but less accessible to low-income participants.

The delivery of monetary incentives contingent on verified abstinence is an effective treatment for alcohol use disorder. However, incentive cost has often been cited as a barrier to delivering this type of treatment. In the present randomized parallel groups trial, we systematically replicated a previous trial we conducted that employed remote alcohol monitoring and incentive delivery to promote abstinence from alcohol, but with the additional requirement for participants to partially self-fund their abstinence incentives. Treatment-seeking participants with alcohol use disorder (n = 92) who met inclusion criteria (n = 36) were randomized to either a Contingent or Noncontingent group (n = 18 each). Those not meeting inclusion criteria included 15 participants who agreed to the deposit requirement but failed to make the deposit payment. The Contingent group received nearly immediate monetary incentives each day they remotely provided negative breathalyzer samples. The Noncontingent group received matched incentives each day they successfully provided samples independent of alcohol content. Days abstinent in the Contingent group were 86%, which was significantly higher than the 44% recorded in the Noncontingent group, corresponding to an odds ratio of 8.2. Exploratory analyses revealed that the deposit requirement prevented participation in those with lower incomes and those with greater alcohol use. These results support the efficacy of this remotely deliverable alcohol abstinence reinforcement incentive intervention with a deposit requirement. However, the requirement to provide a monetary deposit to self-fund abstinence incentives may prevent those with greater alcohol use and/or those experiencing extreme poverty from participating in the intervention. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

The Illegal Experimental Tobacco Marketplace I: Effects of Vaping Product Bans.

OBJECTIVES: Banning vaping products may have unintended outcomes, such as increased demand for illegal products. This study experimentally examined the effects of a vaping ban and a flavored vaping ban on the probability of purchasing illicit vaping products, and factors affecting purchasing from a hypothetical illegal marketplace. METHODS: A crowdsourced sample of exclusive cigarette smokers, exclusive e-cigarette users, and frequent dual users (n = 150) completed hypothetical purchasing trials in an Experimental Tobacco Marketplace under three conditions (no ban, vaping ban, and flavored vaping ban). Participants chose to purchase in a hypothetical legal experimental tobacco marketplace (LETM) or illegal experimental tobacco marketplace (IETM). Vaping products were available in each marketplace depending on the condition. Other tobacco products were always available in the LETM. A hypothetical illicit purchase task with five fine amounts assessed the effect of monetary penalties. RESULTS: Participants from all groups were more likely to purchase from the IETM when product availability in the LETM was more restricted, with e-cigarette users being most affected. The likelihood of purchasing illegal products was systematically decreased as monetary penalties associated with the IETM increased, with e-cigarette users showing greater persistence in defending their illicit purchases. CONCLUSIONS: Restricting vaping products from the marketplace may shift preference towards purchasing vaping products in the illegal marketplace. Nevertheless, penalties imposed on consumer's behavior might be effective in preventing illicit trade. The IETM is a methodological extension that supports the utility and flexibility of the ETM as a framework for understanding the impact of different tobacco regulatory policies. IMPLICATIONS: This study suggests that limiting or banning vaping products as a possible strategy to reduce the adverse effects of vaping products could result in some tobacco-users seeking banned products from illegal sources. Monetary fines were shown to reduce illegal purchases. Therefore, policymakers should consider implementing strategies that may mitigate illegal purchases.

Effects of Reduced-Nicotine Cigarettes Across Regulatory Environments in the Experimental Tobacco Marketplace: A Randomized Trial.

INTRODUCTION: Cigarette smoking remains the leading preventable cause of death in the United States. Recent efforts have explored the potential health and policy benefits of reducing nicotine, an addictive component, in combustible cigarettes. To date, an experimental, prospective analysis directly comparing the effects of varying regulatory environments on purchases of multiple products has yet to be conducted. The present study compared real purchasing of conventional cigarettes, reduced-nicotine cigarettes, and a variety of other nicotine and tobacco products across a range of regulatory environments. METHODS: Participants were assigned to one of five groups, each associated with a different nicotine level (mg of nicotine to g of tobacco) in SPECTRUM investigational cigarettes (15.8, 5.2, 2.4, 1.3, and 0.4 mg/g). Across sessions, participants made real purchases for nicotine/tobacco products in an Experimental Tobacco Marketplace. Each session corresponded with a distinct regulatory environment wherein different nicotine/tobacco products were available for purchase. RESULTS: Our results suggest that the primary drivers of cigarette and nicotine purchasing are regulatory environment and the presence/absence of alternative nicotine and tobacco products. Perhaps surprisingly, nicotine level does not appear to be such a driver of purchasing behavior under these experimental conditions. Investigational cigarette purchasing is lowest when other preferred combustible products are available and highest when investigational cigarettes are the only combustible product available for purchase. CONCLUSIONS: If a reduced-nicotine policy is implemented, great care should be taken in determining and making available less-harmful nicotine/tobacco products as the availability of preferred combustible products may result in undesirable levels of purchasing. IMPLICATIONS: This is the first experimental study investigating different potential regulatory effects related to a reduced-nicotine policy by examining purchasing across a range of nicotine/tobacco products. Our results suggest the presence of affordable, highly preferred combustible products is likely to maintain tobacco purchasing at undesirable levels. To promote switching to less-harmful products, affordable alternate nicotine and tobacco products should be readily available. Finally, our results suggest that the availability of noncigarette products, not cigarette nicotine level, will most likely affect purchasing of reduced-nicotine cigarettes.

Behavioral economic measurement of cigarette demand: A descriptive review of published approaches to the cigarette purchase task.

The cigarette purchase task (CPT) is a behavioral economic method for assessing demand for cigarettes. Growing interest in behavioral correlates of tobacco use in clinical and general populations as well as empirical efforts to inform policy has seen an increase in published articles employing the CPT. Accordingly, an examination of the published methods and procedures for obtaining these behavioral economic metrics is timely. The purpose of this investigation was to provide a review of published approaches to using the CPT. We searched specific Boolean operators (["behavioral economic" AND "purchase task"] OR ["demand" AND "cigarette"]) and identified 49 empirical articles published through the year 2018 that reported administering a CPT. Articles were coded for participant characteristics (e.g., sample size, population type, age), CPT task structure (e.g., price framing, number and sequence of prices; vignettes, contextual factors), and data analytic approach (e.g., method of generating indices of cigarette demand). Results of this review indicate no standard approach to administering the CPT and underscore the need for replicability of these behavioral economic measures for the purpose of guiding clinical and policy decisions. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

The Experimental Tobacco Marketplace: Demand and Substitutability as a Function of Cigarette Taxes and e-Liquid Subsidies.

INTRODUCTION: The experimental tobacco marketplace (ETM) approximates real-world situations by estimating the effects of several, concurrently available products and policies on budgeted purchasing. Although the effects of increasing cigarette price on potentially less harmful substitutability are well documented, the effects of other, nuanced pricing policies remain speculative. This study used the ETM as a tool to assess the effects of two pricing policies, conventional cigarette taxation and e-liquid subsidization, on demand and substitutability. METHODS: During sampling periods, participants were provided 2-day samples of 24 mg/mL e-liquid, after which ETM purchase sessions occurred. Across two ETM sessions, conventional cigarettes were taxed or e-liquid was subsidized in combination with increasing cigarette price. The other four available products were always price constant and not taxed or subsidized. RESULTS: E-liquid functioned as a substitute for conventional cigarettes across all conditions. Increasing cigarette taxation and e-liquid subsidization increased the number of participants for which e-liquid functioned as a substitute. Cigarette taxation decreased cigarette demand, by decreasing demand intensity, and marginally increased the initial intensity of e-liquid substitution, but did not affect the functions' slopes (substitutability). E-liquid subsidization resulted in large increases in the initial intensity of e-liquid substitution, but did not affect e-liquid substitutability nor cigarette demand. IMPLICATIONS: 24 mg/mL e-cigarette e-liquid was the only product to significantly substitute for cigarettes in at least one condition throughout the experiment; it functioned as a significant substitute throughout all four tax and all four subsidy conditions. Increasing cigarette taxes decreased cigarette demand through decreases in demand intensity but did not affect e-cigarette substitution. Increasing e-liquid subsidies increased e-liquid initial intensity of substitution but did not affect cigarette demand. CONCLUSIONS: This study extended research on the behavioral economics of conventional cigarette demand and e-liquid substitutability in a complex marketplace. The results suggest that the most efficacious method to decrease conventional cigarette purchasing and increase e-liquid purchasing may involve greatly increasing cigarette taxes while also increasing the value of e-liquid through potentially less harmful product subsidization or differential taxation.

Timeline Followback Self-Reports Underestimate Alcohol Use Prior to Successful Contingency Management Treatment.

AIMS: Alcohol consumption is a modifiable and plausible risk factor for age-related cognitive decline but more longitudinal studies investigating the association are needed. Our aims were to estimate associations of adult-life alcohol consumption and consumption patterns with age-related cognitive decline. METHODS: We investigated the associations of self-reported adult-life weekly alcohol consumption and weekly extreme binge drinking (≥10 units on the same occasion) with changes in test scores on an identical validated test of intelligence completed in early adulthood and late midlife in 2498 Danish men from the Lifestyle and Cognition Follow-up study 2015. Analyses were adjusted for year of birth, retest interval, baseline IQ, education and smoking. RESULTS: Men with adult-life alcohol consumption of more than 28 units/week had a larger decline in IQ scores from early adulthood to late midlife than men consuming 1-14 units/week (B29-35units/week = -3.6; P < 0.001). Likewise, a 1-year increase in weekly extreme binge drinking was associated with a 0.12-point decline in IQ scores (P < 0.001). Weekly extreme binge drinking explained more variance in IQ changes than average weekly consumption. In analyses including mutual adjustment of weekly extreme binge drinking and average weekly alcohol consumption, the estimated IQ decline associated with extreme binge drinking was largely unaffected, whereas the association with weekly alcohol consumption became non-significant. CONCLUSIONS: Adult-life heavy alcohol consumption and extreme binge drinking appear to be associated with larger cognitive decline in men. Moreover, extreme binge drinking may be more important than weekly alcohol consumption in relation to cognitive decline.

The Experimental Tobacco Marketplace: Narratives engage cognitive biases to increase electronic cigarette substitution.

BACKGROUND: The Experimental Tobacco Marketplace (ETM) is a digital storefront in which participants can purchase tobacco products using an account balance that reflects their typical tobacco product purchasing. The ETM is also an ideal resource to investigate the harm-reduction potential of alternative nicotine products such as e-cigarettes. In a series of experiments, we explored the effects of harm-reduction narratives that encouraged e-cigarette substitution of conventional cigarettes in the ETM. These narratives incorporated different cognitive biases in order to determine which strategy is most effective. METHODS: In both experiments, participants, recruited from Amazon Mechanical Turk, read a narrative about a friend that either falls ill or faces financial difficulties and then made purchases in the ETM. Some of these narratives specifically incorporated different cognitive biases including trusting authority. Across ETM trials, the price of conventional cigarettes increased while the price of the alternative products, including e-cigarettes, remained constant. RESULTS: Across both experiments, a general pattern emerged supporting the effectiveness of narratives in increasing e-cigarette purchasing. Importantly, from a harm-reduction perspective, this increase in e-cigarette substitution frequently corresponded with a decrease in conventional cigarette purchasing. CONCLUSIONS: Narratives can decrease conventional cigarette and increase e-cigarette purchasing in an ETM that mimics real-world marketplaces. Invoking different cognitive biases may bolster this effect. Narratives can be a valuable harm-reduction tool because they are cost-effective, can be widely disseminated, and can be personalized to individuals.

An exact solution for unit elasticity in the exponential model of operant demand.

Research applying the behavioral economic demand framework is increasingly conducted across disciplines. With respect to psychopharmacology and substance abuse, real and hypothetical purchase tasks are regularly used to evaluate the demand for various substances and reinforcers, such as alcohol. At present, a variety of methods has been introduced to solve for the point of unit elasticity, or Pmax, in the exponential model of demand; however, these methods vary in their potential for error. Current methods for determining Pmax are presented here and a novel exact solution for Pmax in the exponential model of demand is introduced. This solution provides an exact calculation of Pmax using the omega function, as algebraic solutions are not possible. This novel approach is introduced, discussed, and systematically compared to earlier methods for determining Pmax using computer simulations and reanalyses of published study data. Systematic comparison indicated that this new approach, an exact analytic solution for Pmax, provides results that are identical to computationally intensive Pmax methods that directly evaluate the slope of the demand function. The exact analytic Pmax approach is reviewed, its calculations explained, and an easy-to-use web tool is provided to assist researchers in easily performing this calculation of Pmax. Implications for reducing potential sources of error are reviewed and future directions are also discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

The experimental tobacco marketplace: Narrative influence on electronic cigarette substitution.

Despite promising decreases in overall smoking rates, a significant proportion of the population continues to engage in this costly behavior. Substituting e-cigarettes for conventional cigarettes is an increasingly popular harm-reduction strategy. Narratives may be one method of increasing the substitutability of e-cigarettes. Participants (N = 160) were assigned to 1 of 4 narratives that described a close friend becoming ill. In the positive narrative, participants read about a friend that became ill but learned it was only the flu. In the negative narrative, the friend became ill from smoking cigarettes; in the negativeregret narrative, the friend became ill from smoking cigarettes and explicitly expressed regret for having started smoking; and in the negativechange narrative, the friend became ill from smoking, switched to e-cigarettes, and made a full recovery. Participants then completed an experimental tobacco marketplace (ETM) in which they could purchase conventional cigarettes and alternative nicotine products, including e-cigarettes. Across ETM trials, the price of conventional cigarettes increased while the price of the alternative products remained constant. Initial purchasing of conventional cigarettes decreased and initial purchasing of e-cigarettes increased in the negative-change group compared with the other three groups. This finding was moderated by conventional cigarette dependence and perception of e-cigarette risk but not previous e-cigarette exposure. Narratives can change conventional cigarette and e-cigarette purchasing in an ETM that mimics real-world marketplaces. Narratives can be a valuable harm-reduction tool because they are cost-effective, can be widely disseminated, and can be personalized to individuals. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

Experimental tobacco marketplace: substitutability of e-cigarette liquid for cigarettes as a function of nicotine strength.

BACKGROUND: The experimental tobacco marketplace (ETM) provides a method to estimate, prior to implementation, the effects of new products or policies on purchasing across various products in a complex tobacco marketplace. We used the ETM to examine the relationship between nicotine strength and substitutability of alternative products for cigarettes to contribute to the literature on regulation of e-liquid nicotine strength. METHODS: The present study contained four sampling and four ETM purchasing sessions. During sampling sessions, participants were provided 1 of 4 e-liquid strengths (randomised) to sample for 2 days followed by an ETM purchasing session. The nicotine strength sampled in the 2 days prior to an ETM session was the same strength available for purchase in the next ETM. Each participant sampled and could purchase 0 mg/mL, 6 mg/mL, 12 mg/mL and 24 mg/mL e-liquid, among other products, during the study. RESULTS: Cigarette demand was unaltered across e-liquid strength. E-liquid was the only product to substitute for cigarettes across more than one e-liquid strength. Substitutability increased as a function of e-liquid strength, with the 24 mg/mL displaying the greatest substitutability of all products. CONCLUSIONS: The present study found that e-liquid substitutability increased with nicotine strength, at least up to 24 mg/mL e-liquid. However, the effects of e-liquid nicotine strength on cigarette purchasing were marginal and total nicotine purchased increased as e-liquid nicotine strength increased.

Electronic cigarette substitution in the experimental tobacco marketplace: A review.

The evolution of science derives, in part, from the development and use of new methods and techniques. Here, we discuss one development that may have impact on the understanding of tobacco regulatory science: namely, the application of behavioral economics to the complex tobacco marketplace. The purpose of this paper is to review studies that examine conditions impacting the degree to which electronic nicotine delivery system (ENDS) products substitute for conventional cigarettes in the Experimental Tobacco Marketplace (ETM). Collectively, the following factors constitute the current experimental understanding of conditions that will affect ENDS use and substitution for conventional cigarettes: increasing the base price of conventional cigarettes, increasing taxation of conventional cigarettes, subsidizing the price of ENDS products, increasing ENDS nicotine strength, and providing narratives that illustrate the potential health benefits of ENDS consumption in lieu of conventional cigarettes. Each of these factors are likely moderated by consumer characteristics, which include prior ENDS use, ENDS use risk perception, and gender. Overall, the ETM provides a unique method to explore and identify the conditions by which various nicotine products may interact with one another that mimics the real world. In addition, the ETM permits the efficacy of a broad range of potential nicotine policies and regulations to be measured prior to governmental implementation.

A crowdsourced nickel-and-dime approach to analog OBM research: A behavioral economic framework for understanding workforce attrition.

Incentives are a popular method to achieve desired employee performance; however, research on optimal incentive magnitude is lacking. Behavioral economic demand curves model persistence of responding in the face of increasing cost and may be suitable to examine the reinforcing value of incentives on work performance. The present use-inspired basic study integrated an experiential human operant task within a crowdsourcing platform to evaluate the applicability of behavioral economics for quantifying changes in workforce attrition. Participants included 88 Amazon Mechanical Turk Workers who earned either a $0.05 or $0.10 incentive for completing a progressively increasing response requirement. Analyses revealed statistically significant differences in breakpoint between the two groups. Additionally, a novel translation of the Kaplan-Meier survival-curve analyses for use within a demand curve framework allowed for examination of elasticity of workforce attrition. Results indicate greater inelastic attrition in the $0.05 group. We discuss the benefits of a behavioral economic approach to modeling employee behavior, how the metrics obtained from the elasticity of workforce attrition analyses (e.g., P max ) may be used to set goals for employee behavior while balancing organizational costs, and how economy type may have influenced observed outcomes.

Toward quantifying the abuse liability of ultraviolet tanning: A behavioral economic approach to tanning addiction.

Many adults engage in ultraviolet indoor tanning despite evidence of its association with skin cancer. The constellation of behaviors associated with ultraviolet indoor tanning is analogous to that in other behavioral addictions. Despite a growing literature on ultraviolet indoor tanning as an addiction, there remains no consensus on how to identify ultraviolet indoor tanning addictive tendencies. The purpose of the present study was to translate a behavioral economic task more commonly used in substance abuse to quantify the "abuse liability" of ultraviolet indoor tanning, establish construct validity, and determine convergent validity with the most commonly used diagnostic tools for ultraviolet indoor tanning addiction (i.e., mCAGE and mDSM-IV-TR). We conducted a between-groups study using a novel hypothetical Tanning Purchase Task to quantify intensity and elasticity of ultraviolet indoor tanning demand and permit statistical comparisons with the mCAGE and mDSM-IV-TR. Results suggest that behavioral economic demand is related to ultraviolet indoor tanning addiction status and adequately discriminates between potential addicted individuals from nonaddicted individuals. Moreover, we provide evidence that the Tanning Purchase Task renders behavioral economic indicators that are relevant to public health research. The present findings are limited to two ultraviolet indoor tanning addiction tools and a relatively small sample of high-risk ultraviolet indoor tanning users; however, these pilot data demonstrate the potential for behavioral economic assessment tools as diagnostic and research aids in ultraviolet indoor tanning addiction studies.