Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019
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Date of Graduation
Spring 2012
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelor of Science (BS)
Department
Department of Psychology
Advisor(s)
Bryan K. Saville
Jessica G.Irons
Monica Reis-Bergan
Abstract
To examine the relation between alcohol consumption and delay discounting of monetary rewards and alcohol rewards, I gave 164 college students an online screener designed to measure the quantity and frequency of alcohol consumption, and hazardous drinking. I identified 20 light-social drinkers and one heavy-social drinker. I then compared how the heavy-social drinker and the light-social drinker discounted delayed monetary rewards and delayed alcohol rewards. The light-social drinking group and the heavy-social drinker both discounted alcohol rewards more impulsively than monetary rewards; the heavy-social drinker discounted more impulsively than the light-social drinking group on both tasks. I also found that the hyperbola-like function provided a relatively decent fit to much of the data. Together, these findings suggest that a delay-discounting task, along with analysis based on the hyperbola-like function, may be sensitive enough to detect qualitative differences in light-social and heavy-social college drinkers.
Recommended Citation
Arnold, Megan Ann, "Delay discounting in light-social and heavy-social drinkers" (2012). Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019. 381.
https://commons.lib.jmu.edu/honors201019/381
