John D. Dimoff

Alcohol and Group Formation A Multimodal Investigation of the Effects of Alcohol on Emotion and Social Bonding

We integrated research on emotion and on small groups to address a fundamental and enduring question facing alcohol researchers: What are the specific mechanisms that underlie the reinforcing effects of drinking? In one of the largest alcohol-administration studies yet conducted, we employed a novel group-formation paradigm to evaluate the socioemotional effects of alcohol. Seven hundred twenty social drinkers (360 male, 360 female) were assembled into groups of 3 unacquainted persons each and given a moderate dose of an alcoholic, placebo, or control beverage, which they consumed over 36 min. These groups’ social interactions were video recorded, and the duration and sequence of interaction partners’ facial and speech behaviors were systematically coded (e.g., using the Facial Action Coding System). Alcohol consumption enhanced individual- and group-level behaviors associated with positive affect, reduced individual-level behaviors associated with negative affect, and elevated self-reported bonding. Our results indicate that alcohol facilitates bonding during group formation. Assessing nonverbal responses in social contexts offers new directions for evaluating the effects of alcohol.

DRD4 Polymorphism Moderates the Effect of Alcohol Consumption on Social Bonding

Development of interpersonal relationships is a fundamental human motivation, and behaviors facilitating social bonding are prized. Some individuals experience enhanced reward from alcohol in social contexts and may be at heightened risk for developing and maintaining problematic drinking. We employed a 3 (group beverage condition) ×2 (genotype) design (N = 422) to test the moderating influence of the dopamine D4 receptor gene (DRD4 VNTR) polymorphism on the effects of alcohol on social bonding. A significant gene x environment interaction showed that carriers of at least one copy of the 7-repeat allele reported higher social bonding in the alcohol, relative to placebo or control conditions, whereas alcohol did not affect ratings of 7-absent allele carriers. Carriers of the 7-repeat allele were especially sensitive to alcohols effects on social bonding. These data converge with other recent gene-environment interaction findings implicating the DRD4 polymorphism in the development of alcohol use disorders, and results suggest a specific pathway by which social factors may increase risk for problematic drinking among 7-repeat carriers. More generally, our findings highlight the potential utility of employing transdisciplinary methods that integrate genetic methodologies, social psychology, and addiction theory to improve theories of alcohol use and abuse.

The Effects of Alcohol and Dosage-Set on Risk-Seeking Behavior in Groups and Individuals

A great deal of risky activity occurs in social contexts, yet only recently have studies begun to examine the impact of drinking on risk-seeking behavior in groups. The present study sought to extend this work by examining both pharmacological and expectancy (dosage-set) effects of drinking. In addition, by using a much larger sample than in prior studies we aimed to increase the power to examine how drinking affects the decision-making process (i.e., Does the initial proposed decision stand, or does it shift during discussion to a safer or riskier final decision?). Seven hundred twenty unacquainted social drinkers (half female) were randomly assigned to three-person groups that consumed alcohol (0.82 g/kg males; 0.74 g/kg females), a placebo, or a no-alcohol control beverage. After drinking, participants decided whether to complete a 30-min questionnaire battery (the less risky choice) or toss a coin and, pending the outcome of that toss, complete either no questionnaires or a 60-min battery (the riskier choice). Neither drinking nor believing one had been drinking affected the decision to toss the coin when participants deliberated in isolation. In contrast, when the decision occurred in a group context, groups led to believe they were drinking alcohol (i.e., groups administered alcohol or placebo beverages) were significantly more likely than groups knowing they had consumed a nonalcoholic beverage (i.e., groups administered a no-alcohol control beverage) to choose the coin toss. Results extend prior findings highlighting the effects of alcohol dosage-set in social contexts.

In search of anticipatory cigarette cravings: The impact of perceived smoking opportunity and motivation to seek treatment.

Craving has long been considered central to addiction, but it remains unclear just how it contributes to drug use or relapse. Improved understanding of its role in addiction requires a more fine-grained examination of craving, including the context in which it occurs. This study used a novel set of smoking-related and unrelated stimuli to investigate the responses of 227 nicotine-deprived smokers under conditions that manipulated perceived smoking opportunity and motivation to quit smoking. Specifically, we contrasted features of preconsumptive states when active smokers anticipate smoking soon to states when smokers do not have this expectation. Results indicated that under certain conditions (smokers not interested in quitting who expected to be able to smoke soon), exposure to smoking cues becomes attractive. Specifically, these smokers found smoking-related images to be more pleasant than did smokers who were either motivated to quit smoking within the next month or who were informed that they would not be permitted to smoke during the experiment. More broadly, the study raises the possibility that the loss of routinely experienced pleasant cravings upon quitting smoking may yield challenges to staying quit and requires greater clinical attention. (PsycINFO Database Record

Speech volume indexes sex differences in the social-emotional effects of alcohol

Men and women differ dramatically in their rates of alcohol use disorder (AUD), and researchers have long been interested in identifying mechanisms underlying male vulnerability to problem drinking. Surveys suggest that social processes underlie sex differences in drinking patterns, with men reporting greater social enhancement from alcohol than women, and all-male social drinking contexts being associated with particularly high rates of hazardous drinking. But experimental evidence for sex differences in social-emotional response to alcohol has heretofore been lacking. Research using larger sample sizes, a social context, and more sensitive measures of alcohols rewarding effects may be necessary to better understand sex differences in the etiology of AUD. This study explored the acute effects of alcohol during social exchange on speech volume--an objective measure of social-emotional experience that was reliably captured at the group level. Social drinkers (360 male; 360 female) consumed alcohol (.82 g/kg males; .74 g/kg females), placebo, or a no-alcohol control beverage in groups of 3 over 36-min. Within each of the 3 beverage conditions, equal numbers of groups consisted of all males, all females, 2 females and 1 male, and 1 female and 2 males. Speech volume was monitored continuously throughout the drink period, and group volume emerged as a robust correlate of self-report and facial indexes of social reward. Notably, alcohol-related increases in group volume were observed selectively in all-male groups but not in groups containing any females. Results point to social enhancement as a promising direction for research exploring factors underlying sex differences in problem drinking.

Addiction training in clinical psychology: Are we keeping up with the rising epidemic?

Addiction has emerged as a serious public health crisis. Clinical psychology as a hub science has a long-standing interest in addiction and is particularly well suited to offer multifaceted treatment to those struggling with substance use disorders. To examine how well clinical psychology training is addressing this proliferation of addiction-related problems, we surveyed the directors of clinical training at all APA-accredited U.S. clinical psychology doctoral programs on 7 occasions between 1999 and 2013. The number of clinical programs rose from 181 to 237 programs across the years, with at least 95% response at each wave of data collection. Results indicated that less than 40% of programs had even 1 faculty member studying addiction, and less than 1 third offered any specialty clinical training in addiction. Results also revealed that both the percentage of programs reporting any faculty studying addiction and the percentage of programs offering specialty clinics in addiction have not increased over the 14-year period. We argue that clinical psychology training must bolster its focus on addiction research and practice.

The effects of alcohol on positive emotion during a comedy routine: A facial coding analysis.

There is considerable interest in understanding the emotional effects of alcohol. While a great deal of experimental research has focused on alcohol’s ability to relieve negative emotions, there has been far less focus on the effects of alcohol on positive emotions. Further, the available research on positive emotion tends to test alcohol while participants are alone. Yet alcohol is often consumed in social settings, and enhancing social pleasure is consistently identified as being a primary motive for drinking. We aimed to address this gap in the literature by investigating the impact of alcohol on positive emotional experience in a social setting. We used the Facial Action Coding System (FACS) to examine in a large sample the effects of alcohol on response to comedy in a group setting. Five hundred thirteen social drinkers (51.9% female) were assembled into groups of three unacquainted persons and administered either a moderate dose of alcohol, a placebo, or a nonalcohol control beverage. Following beverage consumption, groups listened to a roughly 5-min comedy clip while their facial expressions were video recorded. More than 5 million frames of video were then FACS-coded. Alcohol consumption enhanced enjoyment (Duchenne) smiles—but not nonenjoyment social smiles—and elevated mood ratings. Results provide multimodal evidence supporting the ability of alcohol to enhance positive emotional experience during a comedy routine delivered in a social context. More broadly, this research illustrates the value of studying emotion in a social context using both self-report and behavior-expressive approaches.

From consensus to action: time to incorporate social context into laboratory studies of smoking: Commentary

and to include groups. Also, existing experiments focus on smoking continuation because daily-smoking college/ university students are included, and there are ethical constraints when examining initiation or experimentation involving younger age groups. Currently, experiments do not therefore provide complete insight into the social context and the precise underlying mechanism. To overcome some of these limitations, other methodological designs need to be considered, or a combination of designs to tap into the strengths of each design. For example, observational studies would be very appropriate to test the underlying mechanisms in existing friend dyads or groups [18]. Also, longitudinal social network designs using recent statistical techniques [19] allow simultaneous analysis of (de-)selection and influence processes, and further combination with observational/experimental studies offers a deeper and more precise understanding. In addition, combining quantitative and qualitative approaches may be beneficial; for example, an experiment to induce reasoning and verbalized attitudes combined with discourse analysis [13]. The responses received in an experimental design might be more ‘natural’ because individuals are unaware that they are participating in a study on smoking, thus reducing the tendency to provide socially desirable responses. In conclusion, future studies need to provide insights into whether existing theories on social influence and risk behaviour require adjustment in order to account for the role of individual and environmental/contextual factors. Such insights will also have fundamental implications for the design of effective prevention and intervention programmes, especially if it is possible to identify the precise underlying mechanism(s).

Addiction training and multiple treatments for all clinical psychologists: Reply to Freimuth (2018).

The authors agree with Freimuth (2018) that addiction training among clinical psychologists would be enhanced by offering addiction-related training to all clinical students, including those who do not aim to specialize in substance abuse. It is argued that Freimuths points in fact support Dimoff, Sayette, and Norcrosss (2017) recommendation that clinical programs bolster their addiction training but, contrary to Freimuth, in all evidence-based (abstinence and nonabstinence) treatments predicated on patient needs, not on practitioner preferences. (PsycINFO Database Record