Running head: BINGE DRINKING AND DECISION-MAKING
The Effects of Binge Drinking among College Students on
Adaptive Decision-Making
Joyce M. Cossin
Western Carolina University
Abstract
Statement of the Problem
Binge drinking among college students has problematic consequences that affect the binge drinker, others and the college. Binge drinking can compromise a student’s health and may lead to death. According to Wechsler (2002), binge drinkers drink to get drunk regardless of the consequences. Motluk (2004) explains that what is important about alcohol is the pattern of consumption. Binge drinking is a harmful pattern because it increases blood alcohol concentration quickly, and this impacts the brain and other organs. Effects of alcohol on the brain include: changes in emotion, changes in personality, and impaired decision-making (Oscar-Berman & Shagrin, 1997). Bechara and Damasio’s (2002) research on decision- making has revealed that the ventromedial prefrontal cortex and the orbital frontal region of the brain are involved. Their research has shown that substance dependant individuals have deficits with decision-making that involve these areas of the brain. The Iowa Gambling Task is a tool that models real life decision-making, and it is sensitive to deficits of the ventromedial cortex (Bechara & Damasio, 2002). Further research suggests that impaired decision-making could explain why a person may change from casual to compulsive and uncontrollable substance abuse.
The specific point of my research would be to investigate if there is a relationship between the effects of binge drinking and adaptive decision-making among college students. My proposal is based on previous studies involving impaired decision-making and research on the effects of binge drinking. The hypothesis would be threefold:
1. I hypothesize that binge drinkers will perform worse on the Iowa Gambling
task than non-binge drinkers and the control group.
2. I hypothesize that males will report more incidents of binge drinking than females.
3. I hypothesize that there will be no significant difference between binge drinkers and non-binge drinkers on other cognitive tasks involving working memory and abstract reasoning.
The independent variable is the pattern of alcohol consumption, binge drinking, and there are five dependant variables to measure the different aspects of decision-making. These dependent variables are: the Iowa Gambling Task, the Wisconsin Card Sorting Task, the StroopTest, the California Verbal Learning Test, and the Tower of Hanoi. I operationally define binge drinking as five or more drinks in a row for males, and four or more drinks in a row for females.
Method
Participants
The participants would include 48 undergraduates recruited form lower level psychology classes at Western Carolina University. The students must be eighteen years old, and will earn two college credits for participation. Students wishing to participate must complete a screening questionnaire regarding their drinking patterns and occurrences (See Appendix A). Based on the answers from the questionnaire, the students will be randomly assigned to three groups: participants that binge drink, participants that drink, but do not binge, and participants that do not drink. Ideally, each group would have equal numbers of males and females and ethnicity.
Materials
Screening Questionnaire. The screening questionnaire is a modified version of the Wechsler’s College Alcohol Study, and may have questionable reliability due to the modification. The questions are designed to look at drinking habits, history, and occurrences. The questionnaire provided demographic information, and was used to randomly assign the participants to a binge drinking group, a non-binge drinking group, and a control group.
The Iowa Gambling Task (IGT). This is a computerized gambling task that simulates real life decisions by the way it factors in reward and punishment (Bechara & Damasio, 2002). The participants start the game with $2000.00, and they are told that the object of the game is to win as much money as possible. The participant selects a card from one of the four decks labeled A, B, C, and D. Depending on the card that is selected, the participant may win or lose money. Decks A and B are programmed for immediate rewards of large gains, but also for large loses. Decks C and D are the advantageous decks because the net gain is more, but with smaller gains and loses at various intervals. This test is a valid measure based Bechara and Damasio’s (2002) research with substance dependant individuals and decision-making. The results indicated that substance dependant individuals and patients with ventromedial deficits preferred the A and B decks because they liked immediate reward and demonstrated insensitivity to punishment.
The Wisconsin Card Sorting Task (WCST). This is a computerized test that will examine abstract reasoning and the ability to shift between responses (Ernst et. al., 2003). The participants are presented with four cards; each card has a different color, different geometric design, and different numbers of geometric designs. A fifth card is to be matched to one of the four, but the participant does not know the criterion for matching. The computer will immediately notify the participant if the match was correct or incorrect. After ten consecutive correct matches, the criterion will change. The WCST proved to be a valid measure in research with substance dependent individuals and decision- making (Bechara& Damasio, 2002).
The Stroop Test (ST). The Stroop test is a measure of concentration while trying to deal with the distractions of interference (Bechara & Damasio, 2002). The participants have 45 seconds in each trial to accomplish the task. In the first trial the participants are asked to read a list of words printed in black ink that are color names: RED, Green, and Blue. The second will ask the participants to name the color that the xxxx’s are printed in. The final part of the Stroop test will require the participants to name the color of ink the words are printed in. The interference of trying to read the word will reduce the time on this trial. Research from many studies has shown test-retest reliability for the Stoop test.
The
California Verbal Learning Test (CVLT).
This test will examine
learning and recognition memory (Lezak, 2001).
The participants are asked to recall a list of 16 words that will be
read to them in five trial intervals.
After each trial, they are asked to recall as many of the words as
possible. The participants are given a different list of 16 words that they are
asked to recall. This provides for a
short delay before they are asked to recall the 16 words from the original
list, Short Delay Free Recall Trial, SDFR.
The participants are cued by categories to recall the original 16 words,
Short Delay Cued Recall Trial, SDCR. A
twenty-minute delay is experienced before the participants are asked to recall
the 16 words again, Long Delay Free Recall Trial, LDFR. The participants are cued by categories, and
asked to recall the 16 words, Long Delay Cued Recall Trial, LDCR. In the last task, participants are read a
list of 40 words and asked if they from the original 16 word list: yes or
no. This is a reliable measure based on
research with recognition memory and learning (Lezak, 2001).
The Tower of Hanoi, (TH). This is a computerized test that measures planning ability and abstract reasoning (Lezak, 2001). The participants are asked to move four rings from the left peg to the far right peg without placing a larger ring on a smaller ring. Their moves and time are recorded. This is a reliable measure based on previous research involving patients with anterior and posterior deficits (Lezak, 2001).
Participants complete the screening questionnaire, and are randomly assigned to three groups: binge drinkers, non-binge drinkers, and a control group. The participants voluntarily agree to be involved in the research, and they are asked to sign the consent form. All three groups will participate in the following tests: Iowa Gambling Task, the Wisconsin Card Sorting Task, the Stroop Test, the California Verbal Learning Test, and the Tower of Hanoi Test. The tests are countered balanced, and the experimenter is double-blinded in administration of the tests. Data is collected for analysis.
An Analysis of Variance, (ANOVA), would be used to test the first part of the hypothesis that binge drinkers would perform worse on The Iowa Gambling Task than the other two groups. A t-test is used to support the second part of the hypothesis that males would report a higher incident of binge drinking than females. Multivariate of Analysis, (MANOVA), is used to test the third part of the hypothesis that there would be no difference among binge drinkers and non binge drinkers on the other cognitive tests: the Stroop Test, the Wisconsin Card Sorting Task, the California Verbal Learning Test, and the Tower of Hanoi Test.