Assignment: Cognitive Neuroscience Article Review Essay

Assignment: Cognitive Neuroscience Article Review Essay

Assignment: Cognitive Neuroscience Article Review Essay

Massa, A. A., Subramani, O. S., Eckhardt, C. I., & Parrott, D. J. (2019). Problematic alcohol use and acute intoxication predict anger-related attentional biases: A test of the alcohol myopia theory. Psychology of addictive behaviors, 33(2), 139.

Problem solving in psychology is integral in finding remedies to complex solutions. In the contemporary society, compulsive alcohol consumption leads to vices which necessitates problem solving strategies. The need to develop solution stems from the negative impact of excessive drinking which affects other members of the society especially to the relatives of the alcoholic. The present study delves into a review of the article “Problematic Alcohol Use and Acute Intoxication Predict Anger-Related Attention Biases: A Test of the Alcohol Myopia Theory.” The study methods, participants and the implication of the findings in the context of psychology will form part of this discussion.

Major Findings/Conclusions of the Study

The selected study is based on an examination of the effects of alcohol on the development of aggressogenic cues. In other words, it assesses the interactive effect of compulsive alcohol use in the mediation of aggression among the study group. The research established a direct relationship between alcohol use and intimate partner aggression (IPA) (Massa et al., 2019). This is to suggest that alcohol use contributes to aggression as evidenced by violent episodes associated with heavy consumers. In this study, the required breath alcohol concentration (BrAC) was used as a parameter to assess alcohol levels among the participants.

The t-test analysis of the study variables yielded significant outcomes on post-task and pre-task with regard to BrAC levels. Results of the research indicated that problematic alcohol consumption was linked to the development of aggressogenic stimuli (Gallagher & Parrott, 2016). Besides, compulsive alcohol drinking leads to impaired cognitive processing, and this limits the ability of a consumer from responding to environmental stimuli. According to Endres and Fein (2013), heavy drinkers were associated with anger words which were emulated through violent behaviors. Acutely alcohol intoxicated participants manifested less aggression compared to those highly drunk. The study reveals that problematic drinkers experienced alcohol-facilitated cognitive bias which predisposes them to provocations from their partners as opposed to non-drinkers.

Alcohol use can have various effects on consumers. Excessive drinking is associated with the development of aggressogenic stimuli, and this affects the overall behavior of compulsive consumers. According to the study, people intoxicated with alcohol are susceptible to aggression. They are likely to be provoked by various environmental stimuli. However, they lack cognitive resources on how to respond to challenging stimuli in society, and they act out to justify their displeasure. The researcher established that one such pattern of behavior can be identified by extreme violent behaviors that might cause harm to others.

Implications for the Field of Psychology

The study yields a bundle of evidence to the psychologists as it relates to alcohol myopia theory (AMT) with the general effects of problematic drinking. The theory explores the pharmacological effects of alcohol drinking and its overall impact on impaired cognitive processing to the alcoholics. With this, the study is applied in the field of psychology to relate how alcohol intoxication influences thought processing and behavior of moderate to compulsive consumers. The psychologists cannot ignore the attention-narrowing effect of alcohol intoxication as this affects the cognitive processing of the drinkers. The latter are likely to encounter poor judgment and manifest destructive behavior due to poor coping strategies to challenging environmental stimuli. Besides, the heavy drinkers were focused on a specific set of tasks especially those they perceive appealing to their aggression cues. The research is crucial to the field of psychology as provocative cues resulting from excessive drinking makes alcoholics have a predictable pattern of behavior (Gazzaniga & Ivry, 2013). Psychologists will also assess the main effects of problematic drinking and evaluate how such practices are retained to influence the next drinking behavior of the alcoholics.

In so far, the findings of the study especially those related to behavior changes enable psychologists to identify practice patterns of alcoholics. In turn, counselors will be able to formulate therapy approaches that respond to the unique demands of the compulsive drinkers (Massa et al., 2019). Often, problematic alcohol use necessitates a therapy plan to address behavior changes that will not lead to relapse. The psychologists will use the findings from this research to identify the status of aggressogenic cues that cause attentional bias among the compulsive drinkers. The aim of the intervention will be therefore tailored to lower the attentional bias threshold so as to shift the pattern of behavior of alcoholics against destructive actions. The findings from the study also enable psychology professionals to categorize anger as the most aggressogenic cue to address while providing counseling to alcoholics.  Besides, the counselors develop an understanding that provocations aggravate anger due to challenges that alcoholics encounter as they respond to various environmental stimuli (Everitt, 2014). The premise guides on the selection of interventions by first focusing on the environmental provocation before addressing the actual problems faced by the heavy drinkers.

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Method/Participants

The study commenced with the recruitment of intimate couples as participants across two metropolitan cities in the United

States of America. The study population was screened using a telephone to assess their eligibility for the research. Participants with serious head trauma related to injuries, medical complications or psychiatric conditions were excluded from the study. Couples meeting the eligibility criteria were randomly selected and included as participants in the research. Based on the selection criteria using telephone screening, 613 couples were identified as eligible for the study. 324 couples were excluded as they reported nonheterosexual identity. 289 were considered for the research, but 29 couples were excluded for not achieving the recommended BrAC while 11 participants opted to withdraw from the research. The final number of participants was 249 with men making up 148 while women 101.

Alcohol use disorder identification test, provocation, and dot-probe task were used to assess the aggressogenic cues of the participants. A questionnaire was availed to randomly selected participants. The latter were grouped as either Session 1 (index participants on alcoholic beverage) or Session 2 (participants on non-alcoholic beverage). Pain threshold assessment was used to determine the shocks they encountered as they performed competitive tasks. Interview schedules were organized between the researcher and the participant to provide feedback about their experiences.

Strengths/Limitations of the Study

The study provides validity on the acute and long-term effect of alcohol consumption among the participants. In other words, the study variables can be assessed using the alcohol myopia theory to relate the cognitive effects of drinking. The findings are reliable as the major focus are narrowed on alcohol intoxication as well as attention deployment (Massa et al., 2019). The specific focus of the study enables psychology professional to target their intervention by analyzing factors potential in causing impaired cognition among the alcoholics. The study also uses a large sample size to conclude the aggressogenic cues emulated by alcoholics. This leads to a high level of accuracy on the outcome to provide evidence on practice. The present study is also consistent with the previous research on attentional biases of alcohol intoxicated individuals.

On the contrary, the current research uses a retrospective self-reporting questionnaire, a tool that is subject to selective reporting together memory biases. Application of the approach can lead to underreporting on alcohol use and inadequate information about potential problems related to misuse (Purvis et al., 2016). The selected participants comprised of heterosexual individuals reported to be heavy drinkers and most of whom could be subject to relationship conflict. As such, the study findings represent a generalization of behavioral patterns for unique populations which might not be accurate to all alcoholics. Future research needs to focus on how alcohol-facilitated aggressogenic cues influence behavior among consumers.

For this assignment, select a peer-reviewed journal article relating to an area of problem solving, decision making, or an intelligence theory that was discussed in class (e.g., fluid or crystalline intelligence, primary/secondary reinforcers, biases, or effective problem-solving strategies).
The article must meet the following criteria:
The article must be from a peer-reviewed journal.
The article must be obtained from the GCU Library.
The article must be a research study, rather than a literature review (i.e., the article has to have methods, results, and discussion sections).
The article must utilize a cognitive or behavioral theory, model, or effect.
The purpose of this article review is to get you to think critically about an area of cognition or learning. After reading your chosen article, address the following questions. Use subheadings to differentiate between the various aspects of your review. Remember, APA guidelines can be found in the APA Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center.
Major Findings/Conclusions:
Be sure to include the major findings of the study.
What conclusions did the researchers draw from the data?
Implications for the Field of Psychology (how the findings could be used/applied in the field):
Include how the results of the study can be applied (e.g., why are the findings of the study important?). These may be the implications the authors put forth, or your own ideas (be sure to cite if they are not your ideas).
How would psychology/education/counseling professionals benefit (learn) from the findings?
How might the results improve knowledge or application in the field? What should psychology professionals “take away” from the findings?
Method/Participants:
Describe the basics of how the study was conducted. What procedures were used?
Who were the participants?
Strengths/Limitations of the Study:
Include at least one strength AND one limitation you saw in the study.
Explain why you believe each is a strength or limitation. Hint: study findings are not “strengths” in and of themselves.

Link to access the database is below and the log in is Username: SEl-Beck
Password:Lynn1996
https://library.gcu.edu/Database

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