Implicit 'wanting' without implicit 'liking': A test of incentive-sensitization-theory in the context of smoking addiction using the wanting-implicit-association-test (W-IAT).

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: According to incentive-sensitization theory (IST), addiction is characterized by the decoupling of two subconsciously operating psychological processes 'wanting' (i.e., incentive salience) and 'liking' (i.e., sensory pleasure). The present study set out to test predictions derived from IST in the context of smoking addiction with two variants of the Implicit Association Test (IAT): a Liking-IAT and a Wanting-IAT. In line with IST, we hypothesized that smokers differ from nonsmokers with regard to 'wanting' but not 'liking'.

METHODS: Smokers (n = 24) and nonsmokers (n = 24) completed a Liking-IAT (L-IAT) and a Wanting-IAT (W-IAT) to assess their implicit 'liking' and 'wanting' for smoking-cues. Smokers completed these measures twice: once immediately after smoking, and once after a 12 h period of abstinence.

RESULTS: While nonsmokers exhibited negative scores on both IATs that were highly correlated, smokers' W-IAT scores were significantly more positive than and uncorrelated with their L-IAT scores. In line with the notion of chronically increased 'wanting' in addicted individuals, smokers' W-IAT scores were unaffected by the deprivation manipulation.

LIMITATIONS: Results were obtained on a non-clinical sample. Compliance with abstinence instructions was assessed solely via self-report.

CONCLUSION: Results obtained in this study support the assumption that nicotine addiction is linked to a dissociation of 'wanting' and 'liking' for smoking as postulated by IST. Furthermore, the study provides further evidence that the newly developed W-IAT-is a valid measure of implicit 'wanting' that can be used to examine the processes that underlie human reward seeking behavior.