title: A real-time examination of context effects on alcohol cognitions.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  This research used context aware experiential sampling to investigate the effect of contexts on in vivo alcohol-related outcome expectancies.
  
  
  METHODS
  A time-stratified random sampling strategy was adopted to assess 72 students and young professionals at 5 daily intervals over the course of a week using a specifically designed smartphone application. This application recorded respondents' present situational and social contexts, alcohol consumption, and alcohol-related cognitions in real-time.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In vivo social and environmental contexts and current alcohol consumption accounted for a significant proportion of variance in outcome expectancies. For instance, prompts which occurred while participants were situated in a pub, bar, or club and in a social group of friends were associated with heightened outcome expectancies in comparison with other settings.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Alcohol-related expectancies do not appear to be static but instead demonstrate variation across social and environmental contexts. Modern technology can be usefully employed to provide a more ecologically valid means of measuring such beliefs.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Edge Hill University, Ormskirk, Lancashire, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Rebecca L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Monk
authors.forename: Derek
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Heim
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology*; D059031:Anticipation, Psychological; D040421:Cell Phone; D003071:Cognition; D003199:Computer Systems; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012919:Social Behavior; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Alcohol; Context; Expectancies; Real-Time Sampling; Smartphone Technology; Social Cognition; Social Cognition Models