The impact of imagining personalized versus standardized urge scenarios on cigarette craving and autonomic reactivity
Abstract
A cue-reactivity paradigm was used to investigate the effects of personalizing imagery materials on smokers' self-reported craving, mood, and arousal, as well as heart rate and skin conductance. Cigarette smokers (n = 60) participated in a script generation session, during which they described situations used to created four personalized imagery scripts: Positive mood/Urge, Positive Mood/No-Urge, Neutral mood/Urge, and Neutral mood/No-Urge. Their reactivity to these scripts along with 4 standardized imagery scripts and 4 personalized scripts of another smoker was assessed during a second experimental session. Personalization led to greater vividness, positive mood, and relevance ratings compared to the other two script types. However, personalization of urge material did not enhance craving to smoke beyond that generated by standardized scripts or the scripts of another smoker, but did suppress craving under no-urge conditions. These findings stand in contrast to conventional assumptions, supported by several current conceptualizations of craving, regarding the proposed impact of personalization on craving, and suggest alternative mechanisms by which imagery cues might influence craving generation.
Degree
Ph.D.
Advisors
Tiffany, Purdue University.
Subject Area
Psychotherapy|Physiological psychology
Off-Campus Purdue Users:
To access this dissertation, please log in to our
proxy server.