Reduced attentional capture by reward following an acute dose of alcohol

Watson, Poppy; Pearson, Daniel; Pelley, Mike E. Le

doi:10.1007/s00213-020-05641-6

Cited by 13 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 68 publications

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“…Another limitation is that we did not collect information about acute alcohol use at baseline which may have influenced cognitive performance. While it is unlikely that acute alcohol use contributed to the current findings (because acute alcohol use reduces VMAC (Watson, Pearson, & Le Pelley, 2020) it may have added unnecessary variance to the data. A related limitation is that we did not measure or control for problematic alcohol use which has been shown to predict temporary abstinence outcomes in past research (de Visser & Nicholls, 2020).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 83%

Reward-related attentional capture predicts non-abstinence during a one-month abstinence challenge

Albertella

Hooven

Bovens

et al. 2021

Addictive Behaviors

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Background: While it is generally recognised that cognitive attributes can predict behaviour change outcomes in the field of addiction this question is typically studied in treatment seeking samples (to predict treatment outcomes and relapse). However the concept of behaviour change applies to the entire spectrum of addiction-like behaviours and initiatives such as temporary abstinence challenges offer insight into an understudied but equally relevant point of the spectrum. Thus the current study examined whether reward-related attentional capture predicted non-abstinence during IkPas (the Dutch national dry January campaign translated: NoThanks!). Method: Participants included 1130 adults who had complete baseline data and performed above chance level on the cognitive task. Of these 683 participants completed the post-IkPas assessment and were included in the primary analysis. A binary logistic regression examined whether reward-related attentional capture predicted drinking during IkPas controlling for alcohol use at baseline (among other potential confounders). Results: Participants who showed greater reward-related attentional capture before IkPas were more likely to not remain abstinent from drinking during IkPas (p = .014). Findings were replicated using multiple imputation to replace missing data (p = .013). Conclusion:These findings provide important insights into the cognitive mechanisms that support successful behaviour change such as the ability to ignore task-irrelevant reward cues and may inform the development of tools that individuals could use to maximise their likelihood of achieving successful behaviour change.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 83%

Reward-related attentional capture predicts non-abstinence during a one-month abstinence challenge

Albertella

Hooven

Bovens

et al. 2021

Addictive Behaviors

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“…This automatic prioritization of stimuli that provide information about motivationally significant events extends beyond threat. A substantial body of existing research has also demonstrated automatic attentional capture by signals of reward (for reviews, see: Anderson, 2016; Le Pelley et al, 2016; Rusz et al, 2020; see also Watson et al, 2020). Taken together, the implication is that effects of associative learning on attention are driven by the motivational salience of the predicted outcome (i.e., the extent to which that outcome will motivate behavior) rather than the valence of the outcome (whether it is appetitive or aversive: see Watson et al, 2019).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

You do it to yourself: Attentional capture by threat-signaling stimuli persists even when entirely counterproductive.

Mikhael¹,

Watson²,

Anderson³

et al. 2021

Emotion

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Recent research has demonstrated a counterproductive attentional bias toward threat-related stimuli: under conditions in which fixating on a color distractor stimulus sometimes resulted in an immediate shock, participants were nevertheless more likely to look at this threat-related distractor than a neutral distractor matched for physical salience. However, participants in that prior research may not have realized that their own actions caused delivery of aversive outcomes, such that monitoring for the threatrelated distractor may not have been counterproductive from participants' perspective. In Experiment 1 of the current study, we demonstrate that the attentional bias to the threat-related distractor persists (and indeed, becomes stronger) when participants are made explicitly aware that looking at this stimulus is the sole cause of aversive events, which are otherwise avoidable. In Experiment 2 we replicate the bias in informed participants under conditions in which there is additional (reward-driven) motivation to avoid attending to distractors. Taken together with prior findings, the observation of an attentional bias toward the threat-related distractor under these explicitly counterproductive conditions provides strong support for the idea that threat-related stimuli are automatically prioritized by our attentional system.

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“…Primary analyses for both single-distractor and choice trials were conducted on the percentage of trials in which gaze was recorded within the distractor ROI(s). As in previously reported analysis protocols (Le Pelley et al, 2015; Pearson et al, 2015, 2016; Watson, Pearson, & Le Pelley, 2020), data from the first two trials and the first two trials after each break were discarded to minimize the potential for artefacts as a result of participants (re)engaging with the task. Timeouts (1.8% of all trials) were also discarded.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reward encourages reactive, goal-directed suppression of attention.

Pearson

Pelley

2021

Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Perfor

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Stimuli that signal large reward have an increased likelihood of capturing attention and gaze relative to stimuli that signal small or no reward, even when capture counterproductively prevents reward delivery. These findings suggest that a stimulus's signaling relationship with reward (the contingency between stimulus presentation and reward delivery) is a potent influence on selective attention. Recent studies have also implicated a stimulus's response relationship with reward (the contingency between orienting to a stimulus and reward delivery) in reducing capture by signals of reward. Here we show that this response pathway modulates capture by encouraging a reactive, goal-directed distractor suppression process. In a rewarded visual search task, participants demonstrated an oculomotor preference away from a distractor that had a negative response relationship with high reward (looking at the distractor caused reward omission) and toward a distractor that had no such negative response relationship, providing evidence for the role of the response relationship in suppressing capture by reward-related distractors. Analysis of the temporal dynamics of eye movements suggests that this distractor suppression process operates via a reactive mechanism of rapid disengagement (Experiment 1). Consistent with a goaldirected mechanism, the influence of the response relationship was eliminated when reward was unavailable (Experiment 2). These findings highlight the multifaceted role of stimulus-reward relationships in attentional selection. Public Significance StatementThis study highlights the complex relationship between reward and attentional selection. Stimuli that signal rewarding outcomes come to automatically capture attention and gaze, even when such capture is counter to an individual's goals. However, when there are negative reward-related consequences for attending to a stimulus, the rate of capture can be reduced.

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Reduced attentional capture by reward following an acute dose of alcohol

Cited by 13 publications

References 68 publications

Reward-related attentional capture predicts non-abstinence during a one-month abstinence challenge

Reward-related attentional capture predicts non-abstinence during a one-month abstinence challenge

You do it to yourself: Attentional capture by threat-signaling stimuli persists even when entirely counterproductive.

Reward encourages reactive, goal-directed suppression of attention.

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