Handbook of Implicit Cognition & Addiction

Most research on cognitive processes and drug abuse has focused on theories and methods of explicit cognition, asking people directly to introspect about the causes of their behavior. However, it may be questioned to what extent such methods reflect fundamental aspects of human cognition and motivation. Therefore, basic cognition researchers have started to assess implicit cognitions, defined as "introspectively unidentified (or inaccurately identified) traces of past experience that mediate feeling, thought, or action." Such approaches are less sensitive to self-justification and social desirability and offer other advantages over traditional approaches underscored by explicit cognition. This handbook is the first to bring together developments in basic research on implicit cognition with recent developments in addiction research, thus providing an opportunity to move the field forward by integrating research from previously independent fields that are relevant for a better understanding of the etiology, prevention, and treatment of addictive behaviors.