Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 20, 2026

The Motivation for Alcohol Reward: Predictors of Progressive-Ratio Intravenous Alcohol Self-Administration in Humans
Published on: April 28, 2022
Alcohol primes, expectancies, and the working self-concept
Joshua A Hicks1, Rebecca J Schlegel, Ronald S Friedman
1Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, Columbia, Missouri, USA. Joshua.hicks@gmail.com
Implicitly activating alcohol expectancies, like those related to sociability, can alter self-perception. This occurs when individuals primed with alcohol cues subsequently rate themselves on sociability, influencing drinking behaviors.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Social Psychology
- Cognitive Psychology
Background:
- Alcohol consumption is known to cause temporary shifts in self-concept.
- Implicit processes, such as alcohol expectancies, may also influence self-perception.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if implicit activation of sociability-related alcohol expectancies changes self-perception.
- To examine the link between alcohol expectancies, priming, and self-concept ratings.
Main Methods:
- Two studies with 150 participants measured sociability-related alcohol expectancies.
- Participants were exposed to alcohol-related or neutral primes in a laboratory setting.
- Self-concept was assessed using a survey with sociability and nonsociability-related words.
Main Results:
- Sociability-related alcohol expectancies positively correlated with self-rated sociability after alcohol priming.
- This association was not observed with neutral priming.
- Implicit activation of alcohol expectancies influenced self-perception.
Conclusions:
- Implicitly activated alcohol expectancies can shape self-perception, particularly regarding sociability.
- Findings suggest a mechanism linking implicit processes to alcohol consumption behaviors.
- Understanding these implicit effects is crucial for interventions targeting drinking behaviors.
More Related Videos
08:05A Prediction Error-driven Retrieval Procedure for Destabilizing and Rewriting Maladaptive Reward Memories in Hazardous Drinkers
Published on: January 5, 2018
13:24A Procedure to Observe Context-induced Renewal of Pavlovian-conditioned Alcohol-seeking Behavior in Rats
Published on: September 19, 2014
Related Concept Videos
Self-Presentation: Self-Monitoring and Self-Handicapping
Understanding Self-Concept
Self-Concept
Infancy and Emerging Recognition
During infancy, self-concept is virtually nonexistent. Babies do not distinguish themselves as separate entities and often mistake their...
Automatic Processing and Automatic Social Behavior
Strategies of Self-Presentation I: Strategic Self-Presentation
Self-Evaluation: Self-Enhancement and Self-Verification