title: Alcohol-related biases in selective attention and action tendency make distinct contributions to dysregulated drinking behaviour.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess whether alcohol-related biases in selective-attention and action tendency uniquely or concurrently predict the ability to regulate alcohol consumption.
  
  
  METHODS
  Two groups of undergraduate social drinkers (total n = 55) who differed in their ability to regulate their alcohol consumption completed a novel Selective-Attention/Action-Tendency Task (SA/ATT), which assessed separately alcohol-related biases in selective attention and action tendency.
  
  
  METHODS
  University of Western Australia, Australia.
  
  
  METHODS
  Dysregulated drinking was operationalized as a self-reported high level of alcohol consumption on the Alcohol Consumption Questionnaire, and a high desire to reduce consumption on the Brief Readiness to Change Algorithm. Selective attention and action tendency were assessed using the SA/ATT, working memory was assessed using the operation-span task and participant characteristics were assessed using the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) and Stages of Change Readiness and Treatment Eagerness Scale (SOCRATES).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Results indicated that (i) there was no significant association between alcohol-related biases in selective attention and action tendency, r = 0.16, P = 0.274, and (ii) biases towards alcohol, in both selective attention, β = 1.01, odds ratio = 2.74, P = 0.022, and action tendency, β = 1.24, odds ratio = 3.45, P = 0.015, predicted independent variance in dysregulated-drinker status.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Biases in selective attention and action tendency appear to be distinct mechanisms that contribute independently to difficulty regulating alcohol consumption. Treatment components that could be combined to target both mechanisms could enhance treatment outcomes for alcohol-use disorders.
authors.affiliation: Centre for the Advancement of Research on Emotion, School of Psychology, University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA, Australia.
authors.forename: Jason M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Sharbanee
authors.forename: Werner G K
authors.initials: WG
authors.lastname: Stritzke
authors.forename: Reinout W
authors.initials: RW
authors.lastname: Wiers
authors.forename: Colin
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: MacLeod
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000523:psychology*; D019973:Alcohol-Related Disorders / Q000523:psychology*; D001288:Attention; D001315:Australia; D016739:Behavior, Addictive / Q000523:psychology*; D003463:Cues; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Action tendency; addiction; alcohol; approach-avoidance; cognitive bias; selective attention