Ronald Friedman - US grants

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): In the ongoing exploration of the link between emotion and cognition, one of the most significant and intriguing areas of inquiry has been that examining the relationship between mood and creativity. Here, consistent with prevailing theoretical accounts, research findings have primarily suggested that positive, relative to negative moods bolster creativity. However, in recent years, null or conflicting effects have also been reported, suggesting that the influence of mood on creativity may be considerably more complex than previously theorized. In light of this, the PI has developed a new, interactive model of the influence of mood on creativity, one that integrates and refines earlier theoretical advances to enable a more comprehensive range of predictions than do previous conceptual frameworks. According to this dual-factor model (DFM), mood influences creativity by way of its concurrent impact on both knowledge activation and motivation. More specifically, the DFM proposes that: (1) positive, relative to negative moods, enhance creativity by expanding the scope of automatic spreading activation, thereby enabling access to a more extensive body of knowledge from which to forge creative responses; and, (2) positive, relative to negative moods increase motivation, and thereby creativity on tasks framed as "fun", yet decrease motivation, and thereby creativity on tasks framed as "serious". Two experiments are proposed to test these major hypotheses, providing the empirical foundations for the DFM. In each experiment, mood (happy vs. sad) and task framing (fun vs. serious) will be manipulated and performance on creative (and non-creative) problem solving tasks will then be assessed. If the DFM is borne out empirically, it will serve to integrate nearly a quarter-century of theory and research on the influence of mood on creativity and thereby substantially contribute to basic knowledge regarding the link between emotion and cognition, knowledge critical to understanding the pathological effects of mood on cognitive processing in mental health disorders such as manic and unipolar depression.

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): In recent years, alcohol researchers have increasingly begun to conceptualize alcohol outcome expectancies- beliefs regarding the behavioral changes presumed to result from alcohol consumption- as mental representations in long-term memory. Consistent with this information processing approach, it has been demonstrated that alcohol expectancies may be cognitively primed via exposure to alcohol-related stimuli and in turn impact consumptive as well as non-consumptive behavior. Building upon these findings, the proposed project is aimed at investigating the cognitive and behavioral effects of exposure to cues related to the expected outcomes of drinking (e.g., increased sociability, enhanced mood). On the basis of contemporary social-cognitive theorizing, it is predicted that such alcohol outcome cues should: a) increase the accessibility of alcohol-related mental representations in long-term memory;b) promote visual attention to alcohol-related stimuli;and, c) facilitate ad libitum alcohol consumption among individuals with stronger alcohol expectancies regarding the particular outcomes cued. Three studies are proposed to test each of these hypotheses, respectively: In Experiment 1, participants in whom alcohol expectancies pertaining to both sociability and mood enhancement have been measured, will be exposed to outcome-related words pertaining either to increased sociability (e.g., "friendly") or enhanced mood (e.g., "cheerful"). Afterward, the cognitive accessibility (i.e., activation potential) of words related to alcohol (e.g., "beer") will be assessed by comparing speeded pronunciation time for these target words to that for control words. In Experiment 2, participants will again be exposed to either sociability-related or mood enhancement-related cues, but will then be presented with a series of images, including selected photos of alcoholic beverages (alcohol target condition) or non- alcoholic beverages (control target condition). During free viewing of these images, participants'eye movements will be tracked using a computerized remote optics camera, enabling direct assessment of the extent and pattern of their visual attention to alcohol-related versus control stimuli. Finally, in Experiment 3, following exposure to alcohol outcome cues, participants will be allowed to freely drink either beer or juice in an ostensibly separate context, permitting assessment of the influence of outcome-related priming on ad libitum alcohol consumption. If predictions are borne out empirically, the results of this interdisciplinary project stand to cast new light upon the manner in which situational cues impact both alcohol-related cognitive processing as well as alcohol consumption, thereby enabling formulation of more comprehensive interventions against alcohol abuse. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: This project is designed to test whether exposure to cues associated with expected outcomes of drinking alcohol (increased sociability, mood enhancement) subtly influence individuals'thoughts about, attention to, and consumption of alcohol. Study 1 will test whether cues associated with sociability or enhanced mood increase the accessibility of alcohol-related thoughts, Study 2 will test whether these cues increase attention to alcohol-related images, and Study 3 will test whether these cues increase the amount of alcohol consumed in a laboratory setting. Results of these studies will advance understanding of how situational cues facilitate alcohol consumption and will help improve and target interventions focused on reducing motivation to engage in heavy alcohol use.