NCT05110612

Episodic Future Thinking, Loss Aversion and Cigarette Smoking

Episodic Future Thinking Intervention Targeting Loss Aversion and Cigarette Smoking

• Status: Not Yet Recruiting
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 192 (estimated)
• Sponsor: University of Vermont · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 21 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Accepted

Summary

Controlled laboratory experiment to examine whether Episodic Future Thinking influences loss aversion and cigarette smoking among adult individuals who currently smoke cigarettes daily.

Detailed description

Specific Aim 1: Examine in a controlled laboratory study using a randomized parallel-group design whether an intervention that increases LA among 138 current adult daily cigarette smokers (≥21 years; 50% male/50% female) also (1) decreases cigarette smoking and (2) can improve with practice and (3) sustain effectiveness at a follow-up assessment. Potential influence of DD, other self-control, and potential sociodemographic confounders will be accounted for in all analyses. Hypothesis 1.1: EFT will increase LA and reduce cigarette smoking (i.e., smoking rate). (Primary) Hypothesis 1.2: Changes in LA will mediate the effect of EFT on cigarette smoking independent of changes in DD, and relevant self-control related factors. (Primary) Hypothesis 1.3: EFT effects will be greater following Extended compared to Brief training. (Secondary) Hypothesis 1.4: Changes in LA and smoking rate sustained at follow up will be mediated by EFT habit learning indexed by the perceived automaticity of cue generation with extended EFT practice. (Exploratory)

Conditions

• Tobacco Smoking

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
BEHAVIORAL	Episodic Future Thinking	Episodic Future Thinking involves generating positive, autobiographical events that could realistically occur following each of five delays in the subsequent DD task: 1 day, 1 week, 1 month, 3 months, and 1 year. Participants will be told to not include events related specifically to smoking. Using a five-point Likert scale, participants will rate each event according to four dimensions: vividness, enjoyment, importance, and excitement. The event rated the most vivid at each time frame will be chosen for use in subsequent behavioral testing (ties will be settled randomly). Participants will then be recorded reciting a self-created two or three-sentence summary of each event. These recordings will serve as audio cues. Participants will also create abbreviated versions of each description to serve as text cues.
BEHAVIORAL	Control Episodic Thinking	Control Episodic Thinking will report three real, positive events that occurred earlier in the session while playing mobile video games. Participants will be told to not include events related specifically to smoking. Using a five-point Likert scale, participants will rate each event according to four dimensions: vividness, enjoyment, importance, and excitement. The event rated the most vivid at each time frame will be chosen for use in subsequent behavioral testing (ties will be settled randomly). Participants will then be recorded reciting a self-created two or three-sentence summary of each event. These recordings will serve as audio cues. Participants will also create abbreviated versions of each description to serve as text cues.

Timeline

• Start date: 2024-04-01
• Primary completion: 2028-07-31
• Completion: 2028-07-31
• First posted: 2021-11-08
• Last updated: 2023-02-28