Impact of a Pre-Test Measurement of Alcohol Craving: Lessons From a Self-Replication Study

A prior study during COVID-19 lockdown (Heck et al., 2024) examined whether a pre-test alcohol craving measurement influenced posttest assessment and tested its relationship with social desirability (SD) and demand effects (the consequences of participants trying to uncover the study's aim). Results suggested that the first craving measurement increased its post-experimental levels in heavy drinkers, with no associations found for SD or demand effects. Engagement with the alcohol-related video was linked to craving. This study aimed to replicate these findings three years later outside the lockdown context. A hundred and forty-two psychology students were randomly allocated to either a "pre-post" or a "post-only" craving assessment group. They watched an alcohol-related video. SD, demand effects, engagement, and alcohol consumption levels were also assessed. Several findings supported the robustness of effects observed in the initial study, while others diverged, offering new hypotheses. Heavier drinkers reported significantly higher craving levels following video exposure and craving correlated moderately with video engagement. No significant associations were found between craving and SD or demand characteristics. However, unlike the initial study, repeated measurements showed no significant effects or interactions with alcohol consumption. Reanalysis of the original data highlighted a gender-based interaction, where the effect of the interaction between repeated craving measurements and alcohol consumption was significant in men but not in women. These results suggest partial replication of prior findings and underscore the need to further explore contextual and demographic influences on alcohol craving. Moreover, this study confirmed a significant role of video engagement in craving.