Attentional Bias in Non-Smokers Who Use an Electronic Cigarette

Fitzpatrick, Chelsea Louise

Attentional Bias in Non-Smokers Who Use an Electronic Cigarette

dc.contributor.advisor	McGrath, Daniel S.
dc.contributor.author	Fitzpatrick, Chelsea Louise
dc.contributor.committeemember	Sears, Christopher R.
dc.contributor.committeemember	Campbell, Tavis S.
dc.contributor.committeemember	Stea, Jonathan N.
dc.date	2019-11
dc.date.accessioned	2019-08-22T14:52:05Z
dc.date.available	2019-08-22T14:52:05Z
dc.date.issued	2019-08-19
dc.description.abstract	Electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) have been gaining popularity in recent years and are now being used in large numbers by youth who smoke tobacco cigarettes as well as among youths who do not smoke. Previous research has indicated that substance users can develop attentional biases towards stimuli related to their use. Yet, the existence of attentional biases among users of e-cigarettes remains largely unexplored. Using a sample of non-smokers, the present study examined whether e-cigarette users develop an attentional bias toward e-cigarette stimuli and whether this can be transferred to traditional cigarette stimuli. Using eye-gaze tracking to identify attentional biases, it was found that e-cigarette users significantly differed in comparison to controls in terms of the average amount of time that they attended to e-cigarette stimuli. However, e-cigarette users did not preferentially attend to e-cigarette stimuli over neutral stimuli. Furthermore, e-cigarette users did not attend more to smoking stimuli over neutral stimuli. Rather, e-cigarette users appeared to avoid smoking cues. The results of this study indicate that e-cigarette users’ attention towards e-cigarettes is increased in comparison to non-users, which may have implications as to how they react to e-cigarette cues in real-world settings.	en_US
dc.identifier.citation	Fitzpatrick, C. L. (2019). Attentional Bias in Non-Smokers Who Use an Electronic Cigarette (Master's thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca.	en_US
dc.identifier.doi	http://dx.doi.org/10.11575/PRISM/36843
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/1880/110757
dc.language.iso	eng	en_US
dc.publisher.faculty	Arts	en_US
dc.publisher.institution	University of Calgary	en
dc.rights	University of Calgary graduate students retain copyright ownership and moral rights for their thesis. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission.	en_US
dc.subject	Vaping	en_US
dc.subject	Non-smokers	en_US
dc.subject	Attentional biases	en_US
dc.subject	Electronic cigarettes	en_US
dc.subject.classification	Psychology--Experimental	en_US
dc.title	Attentional Bias in Non-Smokers Who Use an Electronic Cigarette	en_US
dc.type	master thesis	en_US
thesis.degree.discipline	Psychology	en_US
thesis.degree.grantor	University of Calgary	en_US
thesis.degree.name	Master of Science (MSc)	en_US
ucalgary.item.requestcopy	true	en_US