Visual and auditory contextual cues differentially influence alcohol-related inhibitory control. / Los estímulos contextuales visuales y auditivos impactan de manera diferenciada el control inhibitorio relacionado con el alcohol.

Representing a more immersive testing environment, the current study exposed individuals to both alcohol-related visual and auditory cues to assess their respective impact on alcohol-related inhibitory control. It examined further whether individual variation in alcohol consumption and trait effortful control may predict inhibitory control performance. Twenty-five U.K. university students (Mage = 23.08, SD = 8.26) completed an anti-saccade eye-tracking task and were instructed to look towards (pro) or directly away (anti) from alcohol-related and neutral visual stimuli. Short alcohol-related sound cues (bar audio) were played on 50% of trials and were compared with responses where no sounds were played. Findings indicate that participants launched more incorrect saccades towards alcohol-related visual stimuli on anti-saccade trials, and responded quicker to alcohol on pro-saccade trials. Alcohol-related audio cues reduced latencies for both pro- and anti-saccade trials and reduced anti-saccade error rates to alcohol-related visual stimuli. Controlling for trait effortful control and problem alcohol consumption removed these effects. These findings suggest that alcohol-related visual cues may be associated with reduced inhibitory control, evidenced by increased errors and faster response latencies. The presentation of alcohol-related auditory cues, however, appears to enhance performance accuracy. It is postulated that auditory cues may re-contextualise visual stimuli into a more familiar setting that reduces their saliency and lessens their attentional pull.

Con el objetivo de crear un entorno de evaluación más ajustado a la realidad, en este estudio se expuso a los participantes a estímulos visuales y auditivos relacionados con el alcohol para evaluar su impacto en el control inhibitorio relacionado con el alcohol. Además, se examinó si las diferencias individuales en el consumo de alcohol y el rasgo autorregulación predecían el rendimiento del control inhibitorio. Veinticinco estudiantes universitarios del Reino Unido (edad media = 23,08 años; SD = 8,26) llevaron a cabo una tarea anti-sacádica de seguimiento ocular, en la que se les pedía que miraran hacia (pro), o directamente en la dirección contraria (anti), estímulos visuales tanto relacionados con el alcohol como neutros. Además, en el 50% de los ensayos se reprodujeron estímulos auditivos breves relacionados con el alcohol (sonido de bar), y las respuestas se compararon con las que se producían en la ausencia de sonidos. Los resultados indican que los participantes dirigieron más movimientos sacádicos incorrectos hacia los estímulos visuales relacionados con el alcohol en los ensayos anti-sacádicos, y que respondieron más rápido al alcohol en los ensayos pro-sacádicos. Los estímulos auditivos relacionados con el alcohol redujeron la latencia de respuesta tanto para los ensayos pro- como anti-sacádicos, y redujeron la tasa de errores anti-sacádicos en los estímulos relacionados con el alcohol. Sin embargo, estos efectos se eliminaron al controlar el rasgo autorregulación y el consumo problemático de alcohol. Estos resultados sugieren que los estímulos visuales relacionados con el alcohol pueden estar asociados con una reducción del control inhibitorio, lo cual se pone de manifiesto en el aumento de errores y en unas latencias de respuesta más rápidas. Sin embargo, la presentación de estímulos auditivos relacionados con el alcohol parece aumentar la precisión en la tarea. Se propone que los estímulos auditivos pueden recontextualizar los estímulos visuales en un contexto más familiar que reduce su prominencia y disminuye su capacidad de captar la atención.

The Decoy Effect Within Alcohol Purchasing Decisions.

BACKGROUND: The decoy effect is the phenomenon where the introduction of a third choice to a decision dyad changes the distribution of preferences between options. OBJECTIVES: Examine whether this effect exists in alcohol purchasing decisions and whether testing context impacts this. METHOD: Fifty-two participants tested in either a bar or library context and were asked to choose one of a series of beer and water deals presented for timed intervals. In some cases, two options were presented (with similar attractiveness) and in other cases a third, less preferable, decoy option was added. RESULTS: A basic decoy effect in both alcohol and water purchasing decisions. Specifically, there were reductions in the selection of both the original options when the decoy was added into choice dyads. A significant interaction demonstrated in the bar context there was a significant difference such that there was a slight increase in participants selecting the most cost effective option when the decoy was added, and a simultaneous decrease in those choosing the moderately cost effective option. There were no such differences observed in the library condition. CONCLUSION: The same product may be perceived differently across contexts and, as such, consumers in a pub environment may be particularly vulnerable to the decoy effect.