Automatic processes in self-regulation: Implications for alcohol interventions Original Research Article

A number of learning-based interventions for problem drinking have emphasized the importance of behavioral self-control skills to help manage responses to high-risk cues. Self-management interventions typically have been based on the premise that effective self-regulation involves the use of conscious, controlled strategies to override habitual responses to high-risk cues. Recent developments in social cognition and health behavior research, however, have begun to expand our understanding of how automatic processes are involved in self-control. This research points to a number of ways that individuals may strategically use automatic processes to facilitate efforts to regulate problematic drinking behavior. Better understanding of these mechanisms holds the promise of advancing the development of assessment and self-management-based interventions for problem drinking.