Exploring the Decision to Drink (More) Alcohol Following Manipulations of Stress and Social Context
University of Washington
Summary
This preregistration documents an experiment examining the effects of acute stress and social context on alcohol-related decision-making. The study uses a 2x2 factorial design (stress vs. control × social vs. alone) with dyadic recruitment.
Description
Behavioral data: Our first set of hypotheses tests whether the decision is influenced by stress and social context: H1a: Stress affects the decision between alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks, so that participants in the stress conditions choose alcoholic over non-alcoholic drinks more often compared to participants in the no stress conditions. H1b: Social context affects the decision between alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks, so that participants in the social conditions choose alcoholic over non-alcoholic drinks more often compared to participants in the alone conditions. H1c: We test t…
Eligibility
- Age range
- 21–50 years
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Yes
Inclusion Criteria: * Drinking alcohol at least once a week * Consuming 4 (female) or 5 (male) drinks in one occasion at least once a month Exclusion Criteria: * Currently pregnant or trying to become pregnant * Past or current treatment for alcohol use * Past or current medical condition that contraindicates alcohol use * Past or current reaction to alcohol that contraindicates alcohol use * Past or current medication that contraindicates alcohol use
Interventions
- OtherStress
Participants randomly assigned to the stress condition will undergo the standard protocol of the Trier Social Stress Test. Participants randomly assigned to the control condition will undergo a validated, non-stressful control procedure mirroring the TSST.
- OtherSocial Context
Participants randomly assigned to the social condition will make decisions about consuming alcohol with a known peer. Participants randomly assigned to the control condition will make decisions about consuming alcohol alone.
Location
- University of WashingtonSeattle, Washington