Assessment of the Choice Behavior Under Cued Conditions (CBUCC) paradigm as a measure of motivation to smoke under laboratory conditions

Background and Aims The Choice Behavior under Cued Conditions (CBUCC) task uses three indices of tobacco use (consumption, money spent to access a cigarette and latency to reach for a cigarette) to assess motivation to smoke under laboratory conditions. Initial research with this procedure has shown that it can evince cue‐specific craving and differential responding for smoking versus a neutral cue. This study aimed to replicate these findings and assess the interaction of cue‐specific craving and behavior with abstinence prior to testing. Design A mixed repeated‐measures between‐groups factorial design was used. Participants attended a morning laboratory session in which they were randomized to remain abstinent or smoke as usual (between‐groups factor) and returned in the afternoon to complete CBUCC. In this, participants were exposed to 40 experimental trials. In each trial they were exposed to a cigarette or water cue behind a movable glass door (repeated‐measures factor). Setting University at Buffalo, New York, USA. Participants Participants were 106 daily non‐treatment‐seeking cigarette smokers, data from 102 were used. Measurements On each of 40 trials, participants rated cigarette craving, and behavioral measures from the CBUCC (money spent, latency to access the cue, puff duration) were recorded. Findings Craving and CBUCC behavioral measures showed high internal reliability across trials (Cronbach alphas ranged from 0.88 to 0.98). Craving and money spent were higher in trials with the cigarette cue than the water cue (F(1100) = 45.49, P