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.