Thesis
Do emotional valence and content of episodic future thinking matter on intertemporal decisions and alcohol demand?
Washington State University
Master of Science (MS), Washington State University
05/2021
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.7273/000004254
Handle:
https://hdl.handle.net/2376/118627
Abstract
Background: Episodic future thinking (EFT) has potential to encourage individuals to make more farsighted decisions. The purpose of the current study was to examine whether emotional valence (positive vs. negative) and content (alcohol vs. non-alcohol) of EFT have different effects on reducing delay discounting (DD) and alcohol demand. Method: Participants with any alcohol consumption experience within the past month were recruited from the online Psychology pool. All participants completed Barratt Impulsiveness Scale at first and then were randomly assigned to a control or one of four EFT conditions (positive alcohol, negative alcohol, positive non-alcohol, negative non-alcohol). Then participants in EFT conditions generated EFT cues based on the conditions they were assigned. Following, all participants completed the delay discounting task and alcohol purchase task but participants in the EFT conditions completed the modified tasks during which their personal EFT cues were displayed. At the end of the study, participants completed a self-report battery assessing alcohol consumption, alcohol-related problems, and demographics. Results: Participants in non-alcohol EFT, no matter positive or negative, had significantly less steep DD compared to those in alcohol EFT. These differences appeared more apparent among individuals with average or lower alcohol problem severity although the overall moderation effect was not significant. This EFT effect on reducing DD did not extend to alcohol demand. Also, there were no significant differences between positive and negative EFT in terms of DD and alcohol demand. Conclusion: These results suggest the content of the EFT, instead of emotional valence, matters in terms of the effect of EFT on DD. We suggest that the effect of EFT on reducing DD works when personal goals (e.g., schoolwork, family, etc.) are incorporated into the content of EFT. Moreover, the results suggest a single session EFT could be a potential therapeutic tool to guide alcohol users to make more farsighted decisions, especially for those with lower alcohol problem severity. Future studies could further explore the effect of EFT on long-term behavior change.
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Details
- Title
- Do emotional valence and content of episodic future thinking matter on intertemporal decisions and alcohol demand?
- Creators
- Yi-Chun Chang
- Contributors
- Benjamin Olson Ladd (Advisor) - Washington State University, Psychology, Department of
- Awarding Institution
- Washington State University
- Academic Unit
- Psychology, Department of
- Theses and Dissertations
- Master of Science (MS), Washington State University
- Publisher
- Washington State University
- Identifiers
- 99900896417301842
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Thesis