The Performance of Adult Alcoholics Working for Alcohol*: A Detailed Operant Analysis

Abstract

Eight chronic alcoholics served as subjects in a residential facility. They were required to make a simple repetitious response in order to earn points exchangeable for social, appetitive, and alcohol reiriforcers. Over the course of this project, rates of responding for points on two schedules of reiriforcement were observed as were patterns of drinking, working, sleeping, and socializing; the effects of alcohol on the subject's performance; and the ir^uences of alcohol as a reinforcer. The findings indicated by the detailed analysis provided by the methodology were not in complete agreement with some of the more coarsely analyzed data of similar experiments, e.g. the subjects worked for points during episodes of drinking more often than not. Additionally, new findings were shown, e.g., the subjects did not save points ahead but worked and drank in a "hand-to-mouth" manner in relatively short drinking and working cycles. Finally, many of the findings were in agreement with data reported earlier by other authors. Some implications for the control of alcoholic behavior are discussed. Mello and Mendelson (1971) have reported a somewhat detailed analysis of some aspects of the drinking patterns of alcoholics. Their data indicated that there was a great consistency in the volume of alcohol requested per purchase and in the distribution of these purchases over time throughout a long drinking period (9-12 days). They further noted that there was a slight decrease in the total volume of alcohol purchased as the experiment progressed. However, their subjects always had sufficient tokens for alcohol purchases and therefore no information was available on the relationship between work and purchases or relative affluence and purchases. In addition, the authors made only limited use of the detail of which their operant tracing analysis was capable.Therefore, the present study was designed to make possible an appropriately detailed analysis of a number of aspects of the drinking behavior of alcoholic subjects, e.g.:1. The influence of two different schedules on which points could be earned which were exchangeable for social, appetitive, and alcohol reinforcers. 2. The reinforcing potential of alcohol.*We wish to thank Dr. Roger Poppen and Ms. Laurie Denno for their suggestions concerning the preparation of this manuscript. 307

The Behavioral Economics and Neuroeconomics of Alcohol Use Disorders

“…These early studies demonstrated that alcohol consumption could be examined under controlled experimental conditions and was not unique as a reinforcing commodity (e.g., Mello and Mendelson, ; Mendelson and Mello, ; Nathan et al., ). In addition, residential laboratory studies convincingly demonstrated that alcohol consumption was sensitive to increases in response cost and the presence of alternative reinforcers (e.g., Bigelow et al., ; Griffiths et al., ; Sanders et al., ; for a review, see Bigelow, ), key predictions from operant theory. Using self‐report measures, it is also clear that alcohol has both positively reinforcing properties that enhance an experience (e.g., stimulation, self‐perception, social enhancement, gustatory properties) and negatively reinforcing properties that remove unpleasant experiences (e.g., anxiolysis, alleviation of depression) (Carey and Correia, ; Corbin et al., ; Darkes et al., ; Herschl et al., ; Kuntsche et al., ).…”

Using Behavior Economics to Understand Alcohol Use Disorders: a Concise Review and Identification of Research Priorities

“…In this context, demand putatively reflects how valuable alcohol is to the individual as a reinforcer. Historically, demand was typically measured using operant self-administration paradigms which defined costs as behavioral responses for alcohol or other drugs (e.g., plunger pulls) [10–12]. More recently, studies in humans now often assess the level of demand for alcohol with a purchase task in which subjects are asked to estimate alcohol consumption at varying levels of price per drink [13, 14].…”

Intervening to Decrease Alcohol Abuse at University Parties

“…Much of the research has been conducted with animals, illustrating how operant conditioning can invoke and reduce drinking behavior (e.g., Black & Martin, 1972;DeNoble & Begleiter, 1976;Mello & Mendelson, 1965). These methods have also been successful with human drinking behavior as a means of treatment for alcohol dependence (e.g., Davidson & Bremser, 1977;Doyle & Samson, 1988;Sanders, Nathan, & O'Brien, 1976).…”