TITLE PAGE WHY DOES DRINKING ALCOHOL AFFECT RISK-SEEKING BEHAVIOR? A TEST OF THE NEED FOR COGNITIVE CLOSURE HYPOTHESIS ABSTRACT WHY DOES DRINKING ALCOHOL AFFECT RISK-SEEKING BEHAVIOR? A TEST OF THE NEED FOR COGNITIVE CLOSURE HYPOTHESIS

Research suggests that the drinking environment can affect dynamic processes involved in group decision making. The current study evaluated the need for cognitive closure (NFCC) as a mechanism underlying previously observed effects of alcohol dosage-set (i.e., beliefs persons have about the content of their beverages) on risk-seeking behavior. Five-hundred-four social drinkers (261 female) were assembled into 168 three-person groups and randomly assigned to one of three beverage conditions: alcohol, placebo, and no-alcohol control. Following beverage consumption, groups were asked to choose between two options of equal expected value, one of which offered a greater yet less certain (i.e., "riskier") outcome. Groups were given 150-sec to make a decision and were required to reach consensus. Group discussion was video-recorded, and behavioral measures of NFCC were systematically coded by three independent raters. Results did not support NFCC as a mechanism explaining the earlier finding; however, results suggested that the decision making task used here may not have offered a sensitive test of NFCC. Though methodological limitations were detected, supplemental analyses indicate that dosage-set affected group decision making prior to observable deliberation, and that groups valued affiliation more than they valued specific decision making outcomes regardless of which beverage was consumed or which decision was initially endorsed. These findings raise new questions regarding the effects of implicit cognitions and normative influence on decisions made in drinking contexts