Yates, Jack , Miller, Benjamin , ARRAZTIO CÓRDOBA, ALAZNE, Warren, Jasmine Grace , Batterley, Michael , Gay, Jessica Catherine , Rose, Abigail K. , Roberts, Carl A. , Jones, Andrew
No
Alcohol Clin Exp Res (Hoboken)
Article
Científica
11/08/2025
001546795700001
BackgroundPrevious research has demonstrated the perceived value of alcohol is transient in hypothetical social and environmental contexts. This study sought to further expand on this by examining whether the social influence of a confederate and the physical environment could be manipulated to influence the value of alcohol and ad libitum alcohol consumption, and thus provide support for the role of value as a mechanism underlying alcohol use.MethodA total of 140 (90 female, Mean age = 25.81, SD = 14.20, Mean AUDIT = 11.51, SD = 5.38) participants completed a between-subjects 2 (environment: bar labortaory vs. standard unadorned) x 2 (social influence: positive appraisal vs. negative appraisal) design in which they completed a brief assessment of alcohol demand, a concurrent choice task, and a visual analogue scale measuring alcohol value, following a limited drinking session with a confederate in one of two laboratory settings, and then completed an ad libitum bogus taste test.ResultsSocial influence had a significant effect on intensity index of demand (F (1,133) = 4.74, p = 0.031, eta p2 = 0.03) and on ad libitum consumption (F (1,135) = 7.60, p = 0.007, eta p2 = 0.05) with positive appraisal having greater intensity scores (Mean = 4.34, SD = 2.80) compared with the negative appraisal (Mean = 3.39, SD = 2.23) and more alcohol consumed (Mean = 221.07 mL, SD = 121.76 vs. Mean = 164.71 mL, SD = 111.80). The intensity index also mediated the relationship between social influence and ad libitum consumption (B = 10.40, 95% Bootstrapped CIs = 0.34 to 23.59). There were no significant main effects of environment and no interactions between social influence and environment.ConclusionThese findings suggest alcohol value is sensitive to social influence. Increased value as a result of positive alcohol appraisals by others had a significant effect on ad libitum consumption and that the intensity index of demand mediated the relationship.
addiction; ad libitum; alcohol; behavioral economics; value-based decision making