Attentional Bias to Alcohol Information: a Novel Dual-Probe Task

Background: Even when motivated to consume less alcohol, attempts to do so are not always successful. Attentional bias to positive and negative alcohol-related information may play a role in shaping unintended drinking behaviour. The present exploratory study adapted a novel attentional bias task, to test whether selective attention to positive relative to negative information about alcohol consumption predicts mismatch between alcohol consumption intention and alcohol consumption behaviour. Method: Thirty-five university students attempting to reduce their alcohol consumption participated in the study. Participants completed a novel attentional bias assessment task where two positive and negative audio-visual messages about alcohol consumption were simultaneously presented. At random intervals during these messages, two different probes were briefly and simultaneously presented, so that only one could be detected. Attention to positive vs. negative messages was inferred from the location of the probe recorded by the participant. Alcohol consumption in relation to participants’ goals was measured using a real-time diary over the subsequent 7 days. Results: An attentional bias towards positive (relative to negative) messages about alcohol consumption predicted the degree to which participants consumed more alcohol than planned, but did not predict alcohol consumption itself. Conclusion: This is the first study to our knowledge that has investigated the relationship between biased attention to alcohol-related information and variation in the success of intended reduction in alcohol consumption, and we suggest that it paves the way for further research into the role of attentional biases in health risk behaviours.