Abstract
Recent empirical findings suggest that alcohol dependence is characterized by heightened sensitivity to unfairness during social transactions. The present study went a step further and aimed to ascertain whether this abnormal level of sensitivity to unfairness is underlined by an increased emotional reactivity. Twenty-six recently abstinent alcohol-dependent (AD) individuals and 32 controls performed an ultimatum game (UG), in which participants had to respond to take-it-or-leave-it offers, ranging from fair to unfair and made by a fictive proposer. Emotional state was recorded during UG offers presentation and was indexed by the amplitude of skin conductance response (SCR). Results showed that AD decided to reject unfair offers more frequently than their controls, confirming previous data. The proportion of rejected unfair UG offers was correlated with SCR, in the AD but not in the control group. This finding suggests that deciding to accept or reject unfair UG offers is influenced by arousal-affective activity in AD, but not in controls. Heightened emotional reactivity may have driven AD to punish the proposer rather than acting as a rational economic agent. An implication of present findings is that AD might have difficult to cope with unfair situations triggered by social interactions. Future studies are needed in order to examine whether—emotional and behavioral—reactivity to unfairness during the UG could impact alcohol consumption and relapse in AD.
Highlights
Alcohol-dependent (AD) individuals persevere in alcohol use despite encountering long-term aversive consequences directly linked to their drinking (Noël et al, 2010; American Psychiatric Association, 2013; Camchong et al, 2014)
Abnormal social decision-making has been evidenced in alcohol dependence through the use of “moral dilemmas,” which trigger a conflict between what is good for the majority and emotional factors (Greene et al, 2001)
The present study aimed to examine the association between emotional state and unfairness sensitivity in AD and healthy controls while performing the ultimatum game (UG)
Summary
Alcohol-dependent (AD) individuals persevere in alcohol use despite encountering long-term aversive consequences directly linked to their drinking (Noël et al, 2010; American Psychiatric Association, 2013; Camchong et al, 2014). The persistence of such maladaptive habits might be underlined by poor decision-making ability. By contrast to control participants, AD showed a blunted emotional reactivity (estimated with heart rate response) to moral personal dilemmas (Carmona-Perera et al, 2013) These findings suggest that AD failed to engage emotional aversive reactions within situations of social interactions that involve personal moral violations for others
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
