The Association Between Smokers’ Approach Bias and Heaviness of Use: A Focus on Light Smokers

The relationship between heaviness of use and the approach bias (i.e., stronger approach than avoidance tendencies) toward tobacco remains ambiguous at both theoretical and empirical levels. Indeed, some models of addiction would formulate opposite predictions (i.e., positive vs. negative relationship) and, as it turns out, current evidence is mixed. In three studies, we investigated this relationship among smokers (relying on a continuous measure of heaviness) and compared approach/avoidance tendencies of light smokers and non-smokers (relying on group comparison). To measure approach/avoidance tendencies, we used the Visual Approach/Avoidance by the Self Task (VAAST) that visually simulates whole body movements. This task was used as irrelevant-feature version (i.e., instructions about another dimension). Heaviness of use was assessed continuously with daily cigarette use. Data were analyzed in two Integrative Data Analyses (IDAs; a kind of meta-analysis considering jointly the raw data of the three studies), thus taking into account both significant and non-significant effects (total N = 173). In our first integrative analysis (Studies 1-3), we observed an increase in the approach bias toward tobacco as a function of heaviness of use, as well as an avoidance bias among light smokers. In our second integrative analysis (Studies 2 and 3), we found that light smokers have a stronger avoidance bias than non-smokers. While the positive relationship between heaviness of use and approach tendencies toward tobacco is consistent with most addiction models, our finding on light smokers’ avoidance bias stands in sharp contrast. These findings, however, can be incorporated into general motivational models or single-process propositional models that consider the role of goal-oriented or propositional processes, respectively.