EXPECTANCY-THEORY - A 2-PROCESS MODEL OF ALCOHOL-USE AND ABUSE

In recent years, cognitive-behavioral approaches to drinking behavior have postulated the importance of alcohol expectancy and drinking refu sal self-efficacy in the development and maintenance of problem drinki ng. However, despite a growing number of publications, the structure a nd role of these constructs have not been clearly explicated in theore tical terms to date. This article proposes a two-process theory of alc ohol use and abuse. It is suggested that the acquisition and maintenan ce phases of drinking behavior are governed by different principles of learning and involve different decision-making processes. The acquisi tion phase is thought to be a time of instrumental learning, in which decision making involves controlled processing by means of a kind of ' 'mental algebra.'' The maintenance phase is described as subject to th e principles of classical conditioning, with automatic processing play ing a major role in the making of decisions. integral to both phases, though differing in structure and function from the first to the secon d, is the concept of alcohol expectancies. Another cognitive construct , drinking refusal self-efficacy, is also hypothesized to play a role in decisions to drink or not to drink. It is suggested that the develo pment of drinking behavior is best explained in terms of associative m odels of learning and memory. Implications for prevention and treatmen t of problem drinking are discussed.