Abstract
As the problems of mood measurements during alcohol consumption of alcoholic beverages do not necessarily evoke interpretable physiological responses, explicit reports may be contaminated by various cognitive biases or expectations. The present study examined whether emotional responses induced by the consumption of beverages containing low concentrations of alcohol can be measured using the Implicit Association Test (IAT). The IAT can detect the estimates of internal proximity between bipolar target concepts (e.g., cheerfulness and fatigue). Participants (N = 30) received three IAT sessions, followed by drinking a beverage containing 0% (control), 1%, or 3% alcohol by volume, and three IATs (at 0, 30, and 60 min after the time of consumption). We also recorded the explicit responses regarding the extent of drunkenness. The analyses of variance with alcohol concentration and time reveal dissociation between implicit and explicit measures. The IAT scores under the alcohol conditions reflect a more cheerful mood state relative to the baseline test. This effect of enhanced cheerfulness was not observed under the non-alcohol control condition. These results demonstrate that the impact of the consumption of low-alcohol beverages on mood can be measured using the IAT.
Highlights
Self-report procedures are among the most commonly used methods for measuring mental states [1]
The results indicated that ratings of happiness increased, whereas ratings of anxiety decreased after alcohol consumption relative to the before-consumption baseline
Participants who were recruited for studies on alcohol consumption may be susceptive to demand characteristics to explicitly demonstrate the effect of alcohol. We propose that this tool may be useful for measuring the effects of light alcohol consumption, in particular, because it has been shown that changes in implicit attitudes precede explicit judgments and actions [17,18]
Summary
Self-report procedures are among the most commonly used methods for measuring mental states [1]. Due to their simplicity, and ease of administration and scoring, numerous questionnaires have been developed to capture a variety of mental states, intended for use with a range of participants and circumstances. For example, one can use the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory [2]. The Profile of Mood States [3]. A population survey conducted in Australia indicated that regular drinking predicted their life satisfaction. Moderate drinkers tend to report higher life satisfaction than abstainers [4]
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