title: The effects of responsible drinking messages on attentional allocation and drinking behaviour.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Four experiments were conducted to assess the acute impact of context and exposure to responsible drinking messages (RDMs) on attentional allocation and drinking behaviour of younger drinkers and to explore the utility of lab-based methods for the evaluation of such materials.
  
  
  METHODS
  A simulated bar environment was used to examine the impact of context, RDM posters, and brief online responsible drinking advice on actual drinking behaviour. Experiments one (n = 50) and two (n = 35) comprised female non-problem drinkers, whilst Experiments three (n = 80) and 4 (n = 60) included a mixed-gender sample of non-problem drinkers, recruited from an undergraduate student cohort. The Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) was used to assess drinking patterns. Alcohol intake was assessed through the use of a taste preference task.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Drinking in a simulated bar was significantly greater than in a laboratory setting in the first two studies, but not in the third. There was a significant increase in alcohol consumption as a result of being exposed to RDM posters. Provision of brief online RDM reduced the negative impact of these posters somewhat; however the lowest drinking rates were associated with being exposed to neither posters nor brief advice. Data from the final experiment demonstrated a low level of visual engagement with RDMs, and that exposure to posters was associated with increased drinking.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Poster materials promoting responsible drinking were associated with increased consumption amongst undergraduate students, suggesting that poster campaigns to reduce alcohol harms may be having the opposite effect to that intended. Findings suggest that further research is required to refine appropriate methodologies for assessing drinking behaviour in simulated drinking environments, to ensure that future public health campaigns of this kind are having their intended effect.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, School of Applied Sciences, London South Bank University, 103 Borough Road, London SE1 0AA, United Kingdom. Electronic address: mossac@lsbu.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Antony C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Moss
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, School of Applied Sciences, London South Bank University, 103 Borough Road, London SE1 0AA, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Ian P
authors.initials: IP
authors.lastname: Albery
authors.affiliation: Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, Addiction Sciences Building, 4 Windsor Walk, Denmark Hill, London SE5 8AF, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Kyle R
authors.initials: KR
authors.lastname: Dyer
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, School of Applied Sciences, London South Bank University, 103 Borough Road, London SE1 0AA, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Frings
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, School of Applied Sciences, London South Bank University, 103 Borough Road, London SE1 0AA, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Karis
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Humphreys
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, School of Applied Sciences, London South Bank University, 103 Borough Road, London SE1 0AA, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Inkelaar
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, School of Applied Sciences, London South Bank University, 103 Borough Road, London SE1 0AA, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Emily
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Harding
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, School of Applied Sciences, London South Bank University, 103 Borough Road, London SE1 0AA, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Abbie
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Speller
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001288:Attention; D004327:Drinking Behavior; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006293:Health Promotion / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D057175:Posters as Topic; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Alcohol; Attention; Eyetracking; Responsible drinking messages; Simulated bar; Student drinkers