The use of a dual-task procedure for the assessment of cognitive effort associated with smoking urges

Abstract

A dual-task procedure was used in two studies investigating Tiffany\u27s (1990) proposal that drug urges should operate at the cost of disrupting activities that demand nonautomatic processing. This theory assumes that urges represent the operation of capacity-limited, cognitive processes. Cigarette smokers imagined sentences containing urge or no-urge descriptors. During imagery, the subjects responded to a reaction time (RT) task while their heart rate (HR) and skin conductance levels (SCL) were monitored. The subjects also rated their smoking urge intensity and mood state associated with each of the urge and no-urge sentences. Relative to no-urge sentences, imagery of urge sentences increased urge and negative mood report, enhanced HR and SCL, and produced slower probe RTs. The overall pattern of results were inconsistent with classical conditioning theories of drug addiction, but supported Tiffany\u27s (1990) cognitive processing theory of urges. Moreover, it is suggested that dual-task, RT measures provide an innovative approach to the investigation of drug urges