Related Experiment Videos
Learning alcohol tolerance: the contribution of response expectancies
M Vogel-Sprott1, K Sdao-Jarvie
1Department of Psychology, University of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.
Psychopharmacology
|January 1, 1989
Summary
Alcohol tolerance is learned through practice and influenced by expected outcomes. Greater rewards for drug-compensatory performance lead to increased tolerance, even through mental rehearsal.
Area of Science:
- Psychopharmacology
- Behavioral neuroscience
- Learning theory
Background:
- Tolerance to alcohol can develop through repeated exposure and practice.
- Environmental cues and performance consequences play a role in tolerance development.
- Learned associations and response expectancies are proposed mechanisms.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review research on tolerance developed through task practice under alcohol.
- To analyze the influence of environmental consequences on alcohol tolerance.
- To explore the role of learned associations and response expectancies in acute tolerance.
Main Methods:
- Review of existing research on alcohol tolerance and learning.
- Analysis of evidence linking performance consequences to tolerance levels.
- Examination of studies on mental rehearsal and response expectancies.
Main Results:
- Tolerance to alcohol is significantly influenced by the environmental consequences of drug-compensatory performance.
- A learned association between a response and its consequence leads to response expectancy.
- Higher perceived value of performance consequences results in greater displayed tolerance.
- Response expectancies can be acquired through mental rehearsal and influence acute tolerance.
Conclusions:
- Environmental consequences and learned response expectancies are critical factors in alcohol tolerance.
- Tolerance to alcohol is not solely a physiological adaptation but involves cognitive and learning processes.
- Understanding these mechanisms has potential social and clinical implications for alcohol use and treatment.