Development of a Virtual Approach-Avoidance Task to Assess Alcohol Cravings

Abstract

The aim of the present study was to develop a new approach-avoidance task in a virtual environment that could be used to assess the response to virtual alcohol-related situations by heavy social drinkers (HSDs) and light social drinkers (LSDs). Thirty-six male undergraduates (18 HSDs, 18 LSDs) responded to signals when they pulled or pushed a joystick after watching scenes of alcohol- or nonalcohol-related situations in a virtual environment. The HSD group spent more time on moving away from alcohol-related situations than nonalcohol-related situations. We found that the HSD group had difficulty in avoiding alcohol-related situations in the virtual environment. The Virtual Approach-Avoidance Task might more accurately measure the levels of social drinkers' craving to drink as it provides realistic situations and allows individuals to be immersed in virtual environments.