Effects of an implicit mood prime on the accessibility of smoking expectancies in college women.

Abstract

This study examined whether an implicit mood prime would differentially affect the accessibility of self-generated smoking expectancies in women. One hundred nine ever-smokers were randomly assigned to receive either a positive or negative musical mood induction or a no-music control condition. Participants self-generated smoking expectancies, and the 1st responses were categorized as positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement, or negative consequence expectancies. Overall, participants generated mood-congruent smoking expectancies, suggesting that affect may act as a conditioned stimulus that elicits expectations of positive and negative reinforcement of smoking behavior. In addition, negative reinforcement expectancies were more frequently generated in current versus past smokers. Results are consistent with a situational-specificity hypothesis and memory-based models of affect and expectancies.