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Psychological Theories of Alcohol Consumption

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The Palgrave Handbook of Psychological Perspectives on Alcohol Consumption

Abstract

This chapter begins with an outline of several psychological theories of alcohol consumption, including alcohol expectancy theory, the cognitive model of binge drinking, incentive motivation model, and the theories of reasoned action and planned behaviour, which have been proposed to account for alcohol consumption. An outline of each theory is provided before the evidence base for each is reviewed. Next, the chapter compares and contrasts the theories in terms of evidence before considering theoretical overlap between constructs and outlining studies that have tested multiple theories in the same sample. After a brief discussion of theoretical integration, a number of methodological issues with existing tests of theories are outlined and discussed. The chapter ends with suggestions for future research.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK

    Richard Cooke

  2. Liverpool Centre for Alcohol Research, Liverpool, UK

    Richard Cooke

Authors
  1. Richard Cooke
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Correspondence to Richard Cooke .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK

    Richard Cooke

  2. Liverpool Centre for Alcohol Research, Liverpool, UK

    Richard Cooke

  3. School of Psychology, University of East London, London, UK

    Dominic Conroy

  4. Department of Psychology, Health and Professional Development, Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, UK

    Emma Louise Davies

  5. Department of Psychological Sciences, University of California, Merced, Merced, CA, USA

    Martin S. Hagger

  6. Faculty of Sport and Health Sciences, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, Finland

    Martin S. Hagger

  7. Brighton and Sussex Medical School, University of Sussex, Falmer, UK

    Richard O. de Visser

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Cooke, R. (2021). Psychological Theories of Alcohol Consumption. In: Cooke, R., Conroy, D., Davies, E.L., Hagger, M.S., de Visser, R.O. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of Psychological Perspectives on Alcohol Consumption. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-66941-6_2

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