Value-based decision-making in daily tobacco smokers following experimental manipulation of mood

Induction of negative mood increases tobacco choice in dependent smokers; however, less is known about the mechanisms behind this. This study addressed this gap by applying a computational model of value-based decision making to tobacco and tobacco-unrelated choices following mood manipulation. Using a preregistered, within-subject design, 49 daily tobacco smokers (>10 daily cigarettes) watched two different videos which primed them to experience negative and positive mood (tobacco valuation and devaluation, respectively). Participants completed self-report measures of mood and craving to smoke before and after priming, followed by a two-alternative forced-choice task with (separate) blocks of tobacco-related and tobacco-unrelated (animal) images. On each block, participants selected the image that they previously rated higher. A drift-diffusion model was fitted to the reaction time and error data to estimate evidence accumulation processes and response thresholds during the different blocks. After watching videos intended to induce negative mood, happiness scores were lower (p < .001, d = 1.16), while sadness and craving to smoke scores were higher (both ps < .001, ds > .60) compared to after watching videos intended to induce positive mood. However, contrary to hypotheses, the experimental manipulation did not robustly affect evidence accumulation rates (F = 1.15, p = .29, η_p² = .02) or response thresholds (F = .07, p = .79, η_p² = .00) for either tobacco or tobacco-unrelated decisions. Manipulation of mood in daily smokers did not lead to alterations in the internal processes that precede value-based decisions made about tobacco and tobacco-unrelated cues. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).