Behaviour Before Brain? Understanding and Preventing Alcohol Misuse in Young Adults [Winner of The Annual Graduate College On-Line Conference Poster Competition]

Behaviour change theories aimed at preventing alcohol misuse often view intentions as the best predictor of behaviour. However, intentions are a fairly poor predictor of behaviour, particularly for risky alcohol consumption.

Instead of explaining behaviour in terms of brain functioning and putting the brain before behaviour, an ecological approach places the level of explanation at the interplay of brain, body and world. This alternative position suggests the environment is a key determinant of behaviour and cognitive processing is secondary to this. When taking this view, meaning exists at the relation of an organism to its environment, as suggested by Gibson’s affordance construct. Affordances represent possibilities for action which humans are able to utilise, for instance, certain objects are graspable and individuals can be spoken-to.

As subjectivity is not characterised by hidden representations, but by perceptions of the world and experiences of acting within it, it can be used as a window into the relationship between drinkers and their drinking environments. This approach requires conceptual and methodological re-tooling, but has value for health psychology research as it puts the brain, body and world back together again.

Using a triangulation of methods (observation, phenomenology and Q-methodology), this research programme has explored how an individual’s relationship with their drinking environment extends and constrains opportunities for consuming alcohol.

This presentation outlines this alternative position, including the conceptual and methodological challenges in using these ideas to investigate risky alcohol consumption. The implications this research has for prevention science and psychology will also be discussed.