Colin Echeverri

Testing the Predictive Value of Drinking Motives to Alcohol’s Acute Effects in a Group Laboratory Setting

Advisor: Kasey Creswell
Major: Psychology
Minor: Cognitive Neuroscience

Abstract

Motivational models of alcohol use propose that individuals are driven to consume alcohol by both positive reinforcement, seeking the pleasurable effects of alcohol (i.e., social facilitation and mood enhancement), and negative reinforcement, using alcohol to cope with/alleviate negative emotions or stress (i.e., coping motives) (Cooper, 1994; Cox & Klinger, 1988). Importantly, a central tenet of these motivational models is that individual differences in the acute effects of alcohol play a key role in motivational pathways to alcohol use. However, few studies have examined the association between drinking motives and acute alcohol responses, and the small number of prior studies that have been conducted have notable shortcomings. First, prior studies have focused on enhancement and coping motives, neglecting social motives, which are thought to be particularly important in driving young adult alcohol use. Second, all prior laboratory studies on this topic have tested participants while they consumed alcohol while alone in a laboratory room, which has low ecological validity since individuals drink most often with others in social settings outside of the lab. Notably, this laboratory solitary drinking setting also precludes assessing social facilitation motives and acute social facilitation experiences while intoxicated. The proposed study will be the first to test whether enhancement, coping and social drinking motives predict alcohol’s actual ability to enhance positive emotions, decrease negative emotions and increase social facilitation in a large sample of young adults (N=393) who consumed alcohol in a laboratory social setting. The findings from this study will inform theoretical accounts of alcohol use centering on drinking motivations by clarifying whether individual differences in the acute effects of alcohol represent important mechanisms in motivational pathways to alcohol use.

Bio

I am majoring in psychology with a concentration in clinical psychology and minoring in cognitive neuroscience. I have been interested in the broad field of psychology since high school but developed a specific interest in clinical psychology after entering Carnegie Mellon University. Since joining Kasey Creswell’s Behavioral Health Research Lab as a research assistant in my sophomore year, I have found a great interest in learning more about the many facets of alcohol use, which is reflected in my current thesis project. Outside of school, I enjoy playing guitar and staying active in the gym.