Attentional capture by alcohol-related stimuli may be activated involuntarily by top-down search goals.

ABSTRACT: Previous research has found that the attention of social drinkers is preferentially oriented towards alcohol-related stimuli (attentional capture). This is argued to play a role in escalating craving for alcohol that can result in hazardous drinking. According to incentive theories of drug addiction, the stimuli associated with the drug reward acquire learned incentive salience and grab attention. However, it is not clear whether the mechanism by which this bias is created is a voluntary or an automatic one, although some evidence suggests a stimulus-driven mechanism. Here, we test for the first time whether this attentional capture could reflect an involuntary consequence of a goal-driven mechanism. Across three experiments, participants were given search goals to detect either an alcohol

SUBMITTER: Brown CRH 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6015597 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature