Biomedical subjects

W G Stritzke

Publications and source records attributed to W G Stritzke.

6 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed1999

Approaching avoidance. A step essential to the understanding of craving.

Craving is only one component of the mental processes that influence drinking behavior. Alcohol-related cues (ARCs) can set in motion a dynamic competition between inclinations to approach drinking and inclinations to avoid drinking. Craving can thus be integrated into a comprehensive model of decision-making in which ambivalence or conflict is a key element. The relative strength of each component of the ARC reaction can fluctuate over time as well as in response to both subjective states and environmental circumstances. Simultaneously and independently evaluating these opposing responses puts clinicians in a better position to influence the relative weight that the patient assigns to the positive and negative outcomes of alcohol consumption.

Alcohol Drinking↗

PubMed1998

Alcohol and fear-potentiated startle: the role of competing cognitive demands in the stress-reducing effects of intoxication.

Effects of alcohol and cognitive demands on reactions to threat were examined using startle response potentiation to index negative emotion. Men and women received nonalcoholic or alcoholic beverages prior to a series of trial blocks, signaled by light cues indicating that shocks might be delivered ("threat" blocks) or that none would occur ("safe" blocks). Within half of the blocks, participants intermittently viewed pleasant photographic slides. Alcohol attenuated overall startle reactivity, but robust fear potentiation (larger startle magnitudes and shorter latencies during threat versus safe blocks) did not differ by beverage condition. Decomposition of the Beverage x Threat x Slide interaction revealed significant fear potentiation in all conditions, except the one in which alcohol was combined with slides. Thus, dampening of stress response by alcohol may depend on diminished ability to process competing cognitive demands.

Acoustic Stimulation↗

PubMed1996

Beyond stress and arousal: a reconceptualization of alcohol-emotion relations with reference to psychophysiological methods.

In this review, the authors examine how psychophysiological research might better contribute to understanding the effects of alcohol on human emotion. They propose that future studies would benefit from greater use of contemporary theories of emotion that emphasize a dimensional structure of affective expression, incorporating the parameters of emotional arousal and emotional valence. Evidence suggests that, although alcohol exerts an overall dampening effect on arousal, it appears to modulate emotional response through its effects on higher order associative processes rather than at the level of primary brain motivational systems. They discuss methodological implications of this multidimensional, multilevel approach and suggest that alcohol-induced physiological changes need to be investigated as dynamic response patterns rather than isolated events tied to solitary measures.

Affect↗

PubMed1995

Alcohol and human emotion: a multidimensional analysis incorporating startle-probe methodology.

The effect of alcohol intoxication on emotional response was investigated using a model of emotion that includes both arousal and valence dimensions. Thirty-six university students were exposed to multiple presentations of photographic slides selected to elicit distinctive emotional reactions ranging from very pleasant to very unpleasant; half of them received a moderate (approximately .75 ml/kg) dose of ethanol. The students' psychophysiological responses indicated that both general startle reactivity and autonomic indices specific to emotional arousal were diminished by alcohol. However, the affective modulation of startle, occurring with emotional states manipulated by slides with distinct valences, remained intact. These findings suggest that "stress-response dampening" by alcohol may involve a nonspecific attenuation of arousal reactions evident for positive as well as negative stimuli and that theories of motivation for drinking that are based on mood alteration may need refinement.

Alcohol Drinking↗

PubMed1993

Children and alcohol.

The literature on what, when, and how young children learn about alcohol and drinking is critically reviewed and key issues are highlighted. Available evidence points to recognition of alcohol, identification of drinking norms and rules, formation of attitudes toward drinking and drinkers, and appreciation of some of the consequences of alcohol consumption as early as the preschool years. Understanding of drinking motives appears to require a level of cognitive development that is not present until about 10 to 12 years of age, although there is a dearth of research on this probably crucial determinant of later decisions to drink. Among the factors involved in the acquisition of alcohol cognitions and dispositions are observational learning via families, media, and peers as well as personal drinking experience. Salience of alcohol and its management in the child's immediate environment appears to be an important moderator/mediator of learning. Application of relevant theory to understanding the development of the meaning of alcohol and drinking in preadolescent children is seen as underdeveloped at this time. However, there are a number of potentially fruitful avenues to pursue which could have important implications for future education and prevention efforts.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Motives for not drinking alcohol among Australian adolescents: development and initial validation of a five-factor scale.

Why people drink has been the subject of much research, however, why people do not drink has been largely neglected. The aim of the present study was to develop a Motives for Abstaining from Alcohol Questionnaire (MAAQ) based on Cox and Klinger's [Journal of Abnormal Psychology 97 (1988) 168; Why people drink (1990) 291] motivational model of alcohol use to investigate reasons for not drinking alcohol either at all or on certain occasions. An initial 35-item version of the MAAQ was administered to 187 Australian high school students (years 10 and 12). Analyses supported a five-factor model with the final 19-item version explaining 60% of the variance. The factors were easily interpretable and were labeled: fear of negative consequences, dispositional risk, family constraints, religious constraints, and indifference toward alcohol. Regression analyses showed that different motives for not drinking predicted different aspects of alcohol use. Results are discussed in terms of theories of alcohol use that emphasize the interface of opponent motivational pathways toward decisions to drink.

Adolescent↗