Using basic laboratory research to understand scheduled smoking: a field investigation of the effects of manipulating controllability on subjective responses to smoking

Abstract

Objective: To examine, in a naturalistic context, the effect of manipulating smokers' control over their smoking behavior on subjective responses to smoking.

Design: A within-subjects yoking design was used in which 23 participants (45% female) first engaged in ad-lib or controllable smoking for 3 days during which a hand-held computer was used to record the timing of every cigarette smoked. This was followed by a 3-day scheduled or uncontrollable smoking phase in which participants were prompted to smoke by the hand-held computer on the same schedule that they had previously recorded.

Measures: Participants used an 11-point visual analog scale presented on the hand-held computer to report reward from smoking and other subjective responses (craving, mood, etc.) immediately after smoking and also at other times (unrelated to smoking) through the day.

Results: During the scheduled or uncontrollable phase participants experienced significantly lower rewarding effects from smoking, poorer mood, less reduction in craving, and less improvement in overall feeling immediately after smoking.

Conclusions: The findings suggest the effect of reduced controllability may partly underlie the effect of scheduled reduced smoking interventions. Results also point to the potential benefit of translating basic laboratory research to the field for developing clinical interventions.