Increasing Motivation and Self-control to Reduce Alcohol Consumption among Undergraduate Students

Participants are randomly allocated into 4 groups. The trial will involve two independent conditions using a 2 (mental simulation: mental simulation vs. control irrelevant visualization exercise) x 2 (self-control training: difficult training vs. active ‘control’ easy training) design. For the mental simulation intervention, participants randomized to receive the intervention will be required to imagine the steps they will take to change their alcohol consumption known as ‘process mental simulation’ and imagine how they would feel on achieving the outcomes known as 'outcome mental simulation'. Participants will be given a process mental simulation script adapted from Pham and Taylor’s (1999) article. The targeted behaviour is adapted as drinking within recommended safe limits. Participants need to follow instructions, read the script, and rehearse it with eyes closed under quiet conditions. Then, they need to write down their responses in the space provided and remember it throughout the research period. Written responses will be content analysed to check for compliance with the task. This mental simulation task should take no longer than 10 minutes. Participants randomized to the control condition will not receive any relevant visualization exercise but will be asked to imagine a recent visit to the cinema or shopping centre to maintain equivalent information load to the active mental simulation condition for 10 minutes. For the self-control training, participants randomized to receive the difficult intervention will be required to complete a computerised response-inhibition task (incongruent version of the ‘Stroop colour-naming’ task). Participants randomized to receive the ‘control’ easy training condition will receive an easy version of the response inhibition task (congruent version of the ‘Stroop colour-naming’ task. This response-inhibition task should take no longer than 5 minutes. Participants will complete the task to which they have been assigned immediately after the visualization task in the initial session and then repeat this on a daily basis throughout the intervention period of four weeks.The response inhibition task system will be used to monitor participants’ adherence by logging each trial and uploading participant responses to a remote server via internet providing compliance data with the training task. Also, four reminder emails or text messages will be sent to prompt participants to practice the Stroop task. The design is therefore 2 (IV1) x 2 (IV2) design with 4 arms. Arm 1: mental simulation & difficult self-control training incongruent Stroop task; Arm 2: mental simulation & ‘control’ easy self-control training congruent Stroop task (congruent version of Stroop task does not affect response inhibition); Arm 3: irrelevant control visualization task & difficult self-control training incongruent Stroop task; Arm 4: irrelevant control visualization task & ‘control’ easy training congruent Stroop task (active control group).