Effects of smoking urge on generation of smoking-related information

Despite widespread research, the role of smoking urge in relapse remains unclear. The present study examined the effect of a smoking-urge manipulation on the generation of smoking-related information. During each of 2 experimental sessions, smokers were given 90 s to list as many positive characteristics of smoking, and then 90 s to list as many negative characteristics as they could. Results indicated that experimental manipulations designed to elicit an urge to smoke increased the number of positive but not negative aspects of smoking. This selective accessing of positive information related to cigarette use during an urge may increase the likelihood of smoking. Results are interpreted with respect to extant models of drug urge and Kunda's (1990) theory of motivated reasoning.