Dynamic Exposure to Alcohol Advertising in a Sports Context Influences Implicit Attitudes.

BACKGROUND: Experimental studies investigating the impact of advertising with ecological stimuli on alcohol-related cognition are scarce. This research investigated the cognitive processes involved in learning implicit attitudes toward alcohol after incidental exposure to alcohol advertisements presented in a dynamic context. We hypothesized that incidental exposure to a specific alcohol brand would lead to heightened positive implicit attitudes toward alcohol due to a mere exposure effect. METHODS: In total, 108 participants were randomly exposed to dynamic sporting events excerpts with and without advertising for a specific brand of alcohol, after completing self-reported measures of alcohol-related expectancies, alcohol consumption, and attitudes toward sport. Participants then completed a lexical decision task and an affective priming task. RESULTS: We showed that participants were faster to detect brand name after being exposed to advertising during a sports game, and that implicit attitudes of participants toward the brand were more positive after they were exposed to advertising, even when alcohol usage patterns were controlled for. CONCLUSIONS: Incidental exposure to alcohol sponsorship in sport events impacts implicit attitudes toward the advertised brand and alcohol in general. The effect of incidental advertising on implicit attitudes is also likely to be due to a mere exposure effect. However, further studies should address this point specifically.

Intimate partner aggression-related shame and posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms: The moderating role of substance use problems.

A dearth of literature has examined the consequences of women's use of aggression in intimate relationships. Women's use of aggression against their intimate partners, regardless of their motivation (e.g., self-defense, retaliation), may elicit shame. Shame, in turn, may contribute to the maintenance and/or exacerbation of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, which are commonly experienced in this population. Further, emerging research suggests that emotionally avoidant coping strategies, such as substance use, may strengthen the relation between shame and PTSD symptoms. The goal of the present study was to examine whether women's shame concerning their use of intimate partner aggression is associated with their PTSD symptoms, and whether drug and alcohol use problems moderate this association. Participants were 369 community women who had used and been victimized by physical aggression in an intimate relationship with a male partner in the past six months. The intimate partner aggression-related shame × drug (but not alcohol) use problems interaction on PTSD symptom severity was significant. Analysis of simple slopes revealed that women's intimate partner aggression-related shame was positively associated with their PTSD symptoms when drug use problems were high, but not when drug use problems were low. Findings have implications for the potential utility of PTSD treatments targeting a reduction in shame and maladaptive shame regulation strategies (i.e., drug use) in this population. Aggr. Behav. 42:427-440, 2016. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

The underlying role of posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms in the association between intimate partner violence and deliberate self-harm among African American women.

African American women are at heightened risk for intimate partner violence (IPV) and its negative consequences, including health-compromising behaviors. Deliberate self-harm (DSH) is one clinically-relevant behavior that has been understudied among African American women generally and those with exposure to IPV in particular. To date, no studies have examined factors that may account for the relationship between IPV and DSH. Therefore, the goal of the present study was to examine the intercorrelations among IPV (physical, psychological, and sexual), PTSD, and DSH history and versatility, and the potentially mediating role of PTSD symptoms in the IPV-DSH relation. Participants were 197 African American community women currently experiencing IPV. Sixty participants (31%) reported a history of DSH. Among participants who reported DSH, there was an average endorsement of 2.3 unique forms of deliberate self-harm (i.e., DSH versatility). Significant positive associations were detected among physical IPV severity, psychological IPV severity, PTSD symptom severity, and DSH history and versatility. PTSD symptom severity mediated the relationships between physical and psychological IPV severity and DSH history and versatility. Results highlight the relevance of PTSD symptoms to DSH and suggest that treatments targeting PTSD symptoms may be useful in reducing DSH among IPV-exposed African American women.

The drunk utilitarian: blood alcohol concentration predicts utilitarian responses in moral dilemmas.

The hypothetical moral dilemma known as the trolley problem has become a methodological cornerstone in the psychological study of moral reasoning and yet, there remains considerable debate as to the meaning of utilitarian responding in these scenarios. It is unclear whether utilitarian responding results primarily from increased deliberative reasoning capacity or from decreased aversion to harming others. In order to clarify this question, we conducted two field studies to examine the effects of alcohol intoxication on utilitarian responding. Alcohol holds promise in clarifying the above debate because it impairs both social cognition (i.e., empathy) and higher-order executive functioning. Hence, the direction of the association between alcohol and utilitarian vs. non-utilitarian responding should inform the relative importance of both deliberative and social processing systems in influencing utilitarian preference. In two field studies with a combined sample of 103 men and women recruited at two bars in Grenoble, France, participants were presented with a moral dilemma assessing their willingness to sacrifice one life to save five others. Participants' blood alcohol concentrations were found to positively correlate with utilitarian preferences (r=.31, p<.001) suggesting a stronger role for impaired social cognition than intact deliberative reasoning in predicting utilitarian responses in the trolley dilemma. Implications for Greene's dual-process model of moral reasoning are discussed.

Personality predicts obedience in a Milgram paradigm.

This study investigates how obedience in a Milgram-like experiment is predicted by interindividual differences. Participants were 35 males and 31 females aged 26-54 from the general population who were contacted by phone 8 months after their participation in a study transposing Milgram's obedience paradigm to the context of a fake television game show. Interviews were presented as opinion polls with no stated ties to the earlier experiment. Personality was assessed by the Big Five Mini-Markers questionnaire (Saucier, 1994). Political orientation and social activism were also measured. Results confirmed hypotheses that Conscientiousness and Agreeableness would be associated with willingness to administer higher-intensity electric shocks to a victim. Political orientation and social activism were also related to obedience. Our results provide empirical evidence suggesting that individual differences in personality and political variables matter in the explanation of obedience to authority.

Some like it hot: testosterone predicts laboratory eating behavior of spicy food.

In the present study, we analyzed the relationship between eating behavior of spicy food and endogenous testosterone. Participants included 114 males between the ages of 18 and 44 recruited from the community. They were asked to indicate their preferences regarding spicy food and were then asked to season a sample of mashed potatoes with pepper sauce and salt (control substance) prior to evaluating the spiciness of the meal. A positive correlation was observed between endogenous salivary testosterone and the quantity of hot sauce individuals voluntarily and spontaneously consumed with a meal served as part of a laboratory task. In contrast, significant correlations were not observed between testosterone and behavioral preference for salty foods. This study suggests that behavioral preference for spicy food among men is related to endogenous testosterone levels.

Probable posttraumatic stress disorder and women's use of aggression in intimate relationships: the moderating role of alcohol dependence.

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is highly prevalent among individuals who experience intimate partner violence (IPV) and is associated with aggression in intimate relationships. The present study examined whether alcohol dependence (AD) attenuates the relation between PTSD and IPV-victimized women's use of physical, psychological, and sexual aggression. Participants were recruited from the community and included 147 women who engaged in substance use and experienced IPV (80.3% Black; M age = 38.24 years, SD = 10.62; M income = $14,323, SD = $12,832). Women with (vs. without) AD reported using significantly more physical and psychological aggression (ηp (2)  = .12 and .03, respectively). The probable PTSD × AD interaction emerged as a significant correlate of physical and sexual aggression (ηp (2)  = .03). Post hoc analyses revealed higher levels of physical aggression among women with probable PTSD and AD and no-PTSD and AD compared to women with probable PTSD and no-AD (Cohen's ds = 1.09 and 0.63, respectively) and women without PTSD and no-AD (Cohen's ds = 0.92 and 0.60, respectively). Further, women with PTSD and AD reported higher levels of sexual aggression than women without PTSD and AD (Cohen's d = 0.80). Findings suggest the utility of identifying and treating PTSD-AD among IPV-victimized women.

Evidence for a curvilinear dose-response relationship between avoidance coping and drug use problems among women who experience intimate partner violence.

Women who experience intimate partner violence (IPV) are at heightened risk for drug use problems. While prevailing models of drug use suggest that IPV-exposed women use drugs in an effort to escape or avoid negative affect, a dearth of literature has examined the role of avoidance coping in drug use problems within this population. Given recent suggestions that flexible, situationally appropriate use of avoidance coping may be adaptive, particularly when confronted with highly stressful situations, we hypothesized that avoidance coping and drug use problems would demonstrate a curvilinear, U-shaped dose-response relationship. Participants were 147 community-recruited women experiencing IPV. Consistent with our hypotheses, moderate levels of avoidance coping were associated with lower levels of drug use problems, whereas high and low levels of avoidance coping were associated with higher levels of drug use problems. Findings highlight the complex relationship between avoidance coping and drug use problems and suggest that avoidance coping, when used in moderation, may be an adaptive strategy for coping with relational conflict among women who experience IPV.

Anxiolytic-like effects observed in rats exposed to the elevated zero-maze following treatment with 5-HT2/5-HT3/5-HT4 ligands.

The present study examined the effects of administering selective 5-HT antagonists and agonists to rats tested in the elevated zero-maze (EZM) model of anxiety. The EZM paradigm has advantages over the elevated plus-maze (EPM) paradigm with respect to measuring anxiety, yet has been utilized less frequently. Three experiments were conducted each with a diazepam control (0.25, 0.5 and 0.75 mg/kg). In the first experiment, we administered the 5-HT2C antagonist RS 102221 (0.5, 1.0, and 2.0 mg/kg) and 5-HT2C agonist MK-212 (0.25, 0.5 and 0.75 mg/kg); in the second experiment, we administered the 5-HT3 antagonist Y-25130 (0.1, 1.0 and 3.0 mg/kg) and 5-HT3 agonist SR 57227A (0.1, 1.0 and 3.0 mg/kg), and in the third experiment, we administered the 5-HT4 antagonist RS 39604 (0.01, 0.1, 1.0 mg/kg) and 5-HT4 agonist RS 67333 (0.01, 0.1 and 0.5 mg/kg). The administration of 5-HT2/3/4 subtype antagonists all generated behavioral profiles indicative of anxiolytic-like effects in the EZM, which was apparent from examination of both traditional and ethological measures. While little effect was observed from 5-HT2 and 5-HT3 agonists, the 5-HT4 agonist RS 67333 was found to produce a paradoxical anxiolytic-like effect similar to that produced by the 5-HT4 antagonist RS 39604. We conclude by discussing the implications of these findings.

Revisiting the serotonin-aggression relation in humans: a meta-analysis.

The inverse relation between serotonin and human aggression is often portrayed as "reliable," "strong," and "well established" despite decades of conflicting reports and widely recognized methodological limitations. In this systematic review and meta-analysis, we evaluate the evidence for and against the serotonin deficiency hypothesis of human aggression across 4 methods of assessing serotonin: (a) cerebrospinal fluid levels of 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (CSF 5-HIAA), (b) acute tryptophan depletion, (c) pharmacological challenge, and (d) endocrine challenge. Results across 175 independent samples and over 6,500 total participants were heterogeneous, but, in aggregate, revealed a small, inverse correlation between serotonin functioning and aggression, anger, and hostility (r = -.12). Pharmacological challenge studies had the largest mean weighted effect size (r = -.21), and CSF 5-HIAA studies had the smallest (r = -.06). Potential methodological and demographic moderators largely failed to account for variability in study outcomes. Notable exceptions included year of publication (effect sizes tended to diminish with time) and self- versus other-reported aggression (other-reported aggression was positively correlated to serotonin functioning). We discuss 4 possible explanations for the pattern of findings: unreliable measures, ambient correlational noise, an unidentified higher order interaction, and a selective serotonergic effect. Finally, we provide 4 recommendations for bringing much needed clarity to this important area of research: acknowledge contradictory findings and avoid selective reporting practices; focus on improving the reliability and validity of serotonin and aggression measures; test for interactions involving personality and/or environmental moderators; and revise the serotonin deficiency hypothesis to account for serotonin's functional complexity.

The disguise of sobriety: unveiled by alcohol in persons with an aggressive personality.

This investigation examined the factor structure of 8 well-validated self-report measures that assess traits that fall under the rubric of an "aggressive personality" and then determined how those factor(s) moderated the association between alcohol intoxication and aggression. Participants were 518 (252 men and 266 women) healthy social drinkers between 21 and 35 years of age. Following the consumption of an alcoholic or a placebo beverage, participants were tested on a laboratory aggression paradigm in which electric shocks were received from, and administered to, a fictitious opponent. Aggression was operationalized as the shock intensities and durations administered to the opponent. Results demonstrated a unidimensional factor structure for the aggressive personality traits, which were then combined into a latent variable. The aggressive personality variable moderated the alcohol-aggression relation. Specifically, alcohol was significantly more likely to increase aggression in persons with higher, compared with lower, aggressive personality scores.

Alcohol, violence, and the Alcohol Myopia Model: preliminary findings and implications for prevention.

This experiment provided a preliminary test of whether the Alcohol Myopia Model (AMM; Steele & Josephs, 1990) would provide a guiding framework for the prevention of alcohol-related violence. The model contends that alcohol has a "myopic" effect on attentional capacity that presumably facilitates violence by focusing attention onto more salient provocative, rather than less salient inhibitory, cues in hostile situations. Participants were 16 intoxicated male social drinkers who completed a laboratory task in which electric shocks were received from, and administered to, a fictitious opponent under the guise of a competitive reaction-time task while they were exposed to either violence-promoting (n=8) or violence-inhibiting (n=8) cues. Aggression was operationalized as the intensity and duration of shocks administered by the participant to his "opponent." Despite being equally intoxicated, participants exposed to violence-inhibiting cues were dramatically less aggressive (d=1.65) than those exposed to the violence-promoting cues. Our data suggest that the AMM holds a great deal of promise to help develop effective prevention interventions for alcohol-related violence.

Alcohol dose and aggression: another reason why drinking more is a bad idea.

OBJECTIVE: Numerous studies have examined the impact of alcohol on violence; however, only a small number have addressed differences elicited by different doses of alcohol. Such studies are limited by mixed findings, small sample sizes, inconsistent alcohol doses and control conditions, a bias toward studying only male participants, and the predominant use of only one particular measure to assess aggression. The present laboratory investigation was designed to elucidate and advance this literature by improving on these limitations. METHOD: Participants were 187 (95 men and 92 women) social drinkers. Following the consumption of one of six alcohol doses (i.e., 0.0 g/kg, 0.125 g/kg, 0.25 g/kg, 0.5 g/kg, 0.75 g/kg, and 1.0 g/kg), participants were tested on a laboratory task in which electric shocks were received from and administered to a fictitious opponent under the guise of a competitive reaction-time task. Aggression was operationalized as the intensity and duration of shocks administered to one's "opponent." RESULTS: Analyses revealed a highly significant positive linear trend between alcohol dose and aggression for both genders. CONCLUSIONS: Our data aid in clarifying a body of literature that has been afflicted with numerous limitations and will help guide the selection of alcohol doses for researchers conducting future laboratory-based aggression studies.

Alcohol Myopia Revisited: Clarifying Aggression and Other Acts of Disinhibition Through a Distorted Lens.

The alcohol myopia model (AMM; Steele & Josephs, 1990) is reviewed in light of its unique ability to account for a variety of alcohol and nonalcohol-related disinhibited behaviors, particularly aggression. The AMM posits that alcohol has a narrowing, or a "myopic," effect on one's ability to attend to competing instigatory and inhibitory cues. Disinhibited behavior is presumed to occur when attention is directed toward salient provocative or instigatory cues rather than inhibitory cues. AMM research is reviewed with regard to stress and anxiety, risky sexual behavior, drinking and driving, suicide, disinhibited eating, smoking, and alcohol-related aggression. The AMM is also expanded by proposing five key mechanisms (i.e., negative affect, angry affect, hostile cognitive rumination, self-awareness, and empathy) that are likely to explain how the model is specifically involved in the alcohol-aggression relation. Finally, a number of public health interventions, extrapolated from the AMM, are proposed to stimulate future research directed at reducing the prevalence of alcohol-related violence.