Graduation Year

2024

Document Type

Thesis

Degree

M.A.

Degree Name

Master of Arts (M.A.)

Degree Granting Department

Anthropology

Major Professor

Daniel Lende, Ph.D.

Committee Member

E. Christian Wells, Ph.D.

Committee Member

Elena Lesley, Ph.D.

Keywords

Bateson, EMA, Alcohol, Caffeine

Abstract

This project employs Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA) methods alongside semi-structured interviews to examine substance use cues, or “triggers”, in the everyday context. This includes repeated assessment of participants’ behaviors and thoughts over time. EMA allows researchers to sample phenomena the moment they occur within the context. These methods are most used in psychology and clinical science. Current research on substance use relies on lab-based assessments to understand cues and their relationship to consumption (Carter and Tiffany 1999, Conklin and Tiffany 2003, Witteman et al. 2015). This analysis uses data collected by the Cues in the Everyday (CITED) Team. The CITED project used real-time mixed methods protocols to understand the context around cues and consumption. Students are asked to provide descriptions of substance use stimuli as they occur. This project focuses on cues for alcohol, nicotine, and caffeine experienced by students at the University of South Florida. Each participant took part in a four-day trial. The trials were unique to the participants and occurred separately. During this trial, EMA was used to assess participant experience of cued and non-cued moments. This study builds off previous work in neuroanthropology, which examines human variation in field-based settings, and incentive salience, which explores how cues become “attention grabbing” (Lende et al. 2012). This project adapts incentive salience to real-time assessment of cues and consumption. It is an exploratory study that brings together psychological understandings of cues with field-based anthropological approaches aiming to bridge the gap between anthropology, neuroscience, and psychology.

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