Appetite 84 (2015) 161165

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Appetite
j o u r n a l h o m e p a g e : w w w. e l s e v i e r. c o m / l o c a t e / a p p e t

Research report

Levels of craving inuence psychological challenge and

physiological reactivity
Daniel Frings *, Guleser Eskisan, Marcantonio M. Spada, Ian P. Albery
Department of Psychology, London South Bank University, London, 102 Borough Road, SE1 0AA, UK

A R T I C L E

I N F O

Article history:
Received 27 June 2014
Received in revised form 10 October 2014
Accepted 13 October 2014
Available online 18 October 2014
Keywords:
Craving
Challenge
Desire
Motivation
Threat

A B S T R A C T

Behavioural and cognitive pathways that lead to the activation and escalation of craving have been studied
extensively. Conversely, limited efforts have been directed towards understanding how craving relates
to motivational systems and neuroendocrine responses. These can be understood using the biopsychosocial
model of challenge and threat. In the current study, forty participants with varying levels of chocolate
craving undertook two word searches, with the prospect of winning a piece of chocolate. Amongst those
with high levels of craving, participation in this task led to motivational states of challenge relative to
those with lower levels. This was reected by changes in cardiac reactivity driven by differences in
sympathetic-adrenal-medullar and hypothalamicpituitary-adrenal axis activation. This nding suggests that craving can be associated with states of motivational challenge and thus affect cardiac reactivity.
2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Introduction
Craving is often referred to as an automatic, powerful and subjective experience which encourages individuals to achieve a given
desired target in order to experience its rewarding effects (Marlatt,
1987). Central to this view is the idea that craving is an epiphenomenon of addictive conditioning processes (e.g. Stewart, Dewit,
& Eikelboom, 1984). More recently it has been argued that craving
is unlikely to be a purely automatic process. For example, van Dillen,
Papies, and Hofmann (2013) have shown that cognitive load can
reduce the impact of craving and Kavanagh, Andrade, and May (2005)
have suggested that the intensity and frequency of craving reect
voluntary cognitive elaboration including mental imagery.
Although much research has investigated the behavioural and
cognitive pathways that lead to the activation and escalation of
craving, limited efforts have been directed towards elucidating how
craving is linked to motivational states. One way of understanding
how craving relates to motivational states is to investigate how it
affects associated psychophysiological markers. A particular framework which may be relevant in understanding this is the
biopsychosocial model of challenge and threat (BPSM; Blascovich
& Mendes, 2000; Blascovich & Tomaka, 1996). The BPSM argues that
in situations where individuals are motivated to perform, they can

* Corresponding author.
E-mail address: fringsd@lsbu.ac.uk (D. Frings).
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2014.10.010
0195-6663/ 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

undergo motivational states of either challenge or threat which guide

goal fullment intentions. States of challenge and threat have been
linked to a variety of cognitive and behavioural outcomes. For instance, challenged individuals focus their attention more on areas
of the visual eld associated with gains (Frings, Rycroft, Allen, & Fenn,
2014), have short and long term improvements in sports performance (e.g. Blascovich, Seery, Mugridge, Norris, & Weisbuch, 2004;
Moore, Wilson, Vine, Coussens, & Freeman, 2013), score higher on
word games (e.g. Mendes, Blascovich, Lickel, & Hunter, 2002) and
may experience more positive affect (see Blascovich & Mendes, 2000).
A signicant body of research has identied a pattern of neuroendocrine responses (reected in changes in the cardiovascular system).
The links between these markers and challenge/threat have been
validated in numerous studies from a number of research groups,
which differentiate individuals in states of challenge and threat (see
for instance; Blascovich & Tomaka, 1996, Moore, Vine, Wilson, &
Freeman, 2014; Scheepers, de Wit, Ellemers, & Sassenberg, 2012).
When an individual engages in a performance motivated task
(one which requires effort for material gain, or for the purposes of
positive self-presentation) they demonstrate increased sympatheticadrenal-medullary (SAM) activation, leading to increased heart rate
(HR; number of beats per minute) and increased vasodilatation (i.e.
decreased total peripheral resistance; TPR). In threat states, simultaneous activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal system
inhibits vasodilatation leading to (relatively) increased TPR. As both
challenge and threat are differentiated by changes in TPR, they are
conceived of as relative states on a bi-polar continuum (where
someone more challenged can also be seen as less threatened and
vice-versa).

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D. Frings et al./Appetite 84 (2015) 161165

States of challenge and threat are thought to be the result of an

appraisal of both the demands present in a task and the resources
one has to face it. Demands can include risk, uncertainty and high
effort. Resources can include expertise, knowledge and external
support. The potential gains a situation presents may also act as a
resource. For instance, Elliot and Harackiewicz (1996) suggest that
individuals evaluate a goal-setting task as a challenge provided they
have enough resources to meet the demands. Similarly, Kozlowski
and Wilkinson (1987) have suggested that craving activates motivational states, producing positive outcomes when the desired object
is consumed. Exposure to drug related cues can also lead to an anticipation that craving can be fullled, and subsequent behaviours/
cognitions. For instance, Droungas, Ehrman, Childress and OBrien
(1995) showed that telling smokers they could smoke (e.g. presenting them with an opportunity to full craving) leads to greater
feelings of withdrawal and desire to smoke when presented with
a smoke related cue (seeing others smoke). Such behaviours are likely
to be automatic, and reect activation in the ventral striatum, amygdala and orbitol-frontal cortex (see Chase, Eickhoff, Laird, and
Hogarth, 2011).
Direct evidence for links between future gains and motivational states can also be found in the challenge and threat literature.
For instance, Seery, Weisbuch, and Blascovich (2009) have shown
that participants primed to view a task as being gain-orientated (e.g.
framed as having a potential to win money) showed states of challenge relative to those with a loss-orientation condition (e.g. framed
in terms of potential money loss). Similarly, Chalabaev, Major, Cury
and Sarrazin (2009) have shown that participants who believed a
task would identify them as high performers (providing an approach related goal) experienced challenge relative to those who
believed the task would identify them as weak performers (providing an avoidance related goal).
The current study examines the links between craving towards
one of the most popular snacks in the world, chocolate, and motivational changes expressed through neuroendocrine system
reactivity. Chocolate consumption is widely associated with enjoyment and pleasure and has been found to provide its own hedonistic
reward by satisfying craving (Parker, Parker, & Brotchie, 2006). Rozin,
Levine, and Stoess (1991) suggest chocolate craving stems from a
perceived need to restore physiological deciencies, such as energy
loss. Individuals may thus prefer to indulge in chocolate than other
foods, due to its high calorie content in fat, sugar and carbohydrates (Hill & Heaton-Brown, 1994), along with the pleasurable effect
of a melt-in-the-mouth sensation (Rozin et al., 1991).
Given the operation of states of challenge and threat through
appraisals, and the likelihood that craving will inuence appraisals of subsequent gains, a prediction can be made that states of
challenge will vary as a function of momentary levels of craving
for the desired object, with higher craving linked to increased
challenge. The current study tested this prediction by measuring
changes in physiological indexes associated with states of challenge and threat amongst participants with various levels of
chocolate craving whilst they took part in a task aimed at winning
chocolate.

occurring mid-study) and also experimenter error (e.g. failing to note

start and end times of recordings).
Design
A correlational design was employed.1 The critical variables measured included levels of chocolate craving prior to the tasks being
undertaken, and levels of challenge/threat states experienced during
each of the two word searches. Performance and perceived task
diculty were also recorded.
Measures
Craving
States of chocolate craving were measured using a chocolate
craving scale modelled on (but not replicating directly) the Alcohol
Craving Questionnaire Short Form-Revised (see Singleton, Tiffany,
& Henningeld, 2004). The scale comprises eight items (I have a
desire for chocolate right now, Nothing would be better than eating
a chocolate bar now, If it were possible I would eat a bar of chocolate now, All I want right now is a bar of chocolate, A bar of
chocolate would taste good now, I would do almost anything for
a chocolate bar now, Eating chocolate would make me less depressed and I am going to eat chocolate as soon as possible) scored
on 5 point scale (1 = strongly disagree, 5 = strongly agree). Internal
reliability of the scale was good (Cronbach = .86) and no item
removal was found to improve reliability.

Participants

Challenge and threat

Measures of challenge and threat were obtained via impedance cardiography (ICG), electrocardiography (ECG) and continuous
blood pressure monitoring.
ECG measures were obtained using a Standard Lead II conguration via a BIOPAC ECG100C amplier, whilst ICG measures were
recorded using a BIOPAC NICO100C amplier via electrodes to
provide basal transthoracic impedance (ZO) and its rst derivative
(dZ/Dt). Continuous blood pressure was measured using a CNSsytems
CNAP monitor connected to a BIOPAC DA100c amplier. Samples
were taken at 1 kHz. Data were collected, ltered and complied using
Acknowledge 4.2 ICG Analysis function (with default calculation
methods and ltering methods retained).
Measures derived from ICG, ECG, blood pressure and heart rate
readings formed various indexes including cardiac output (CO), heart
rate (HR), pre-ejection period (PEP), left ventricular ejection time
(LVET) and total peripheral resistance (TPR). Challenge-threat indexes
were calculated by converting TPR and CO reactivity of each participant into z-scores. These indexes allowed comparisons of: (a)
resting baseline and practice phase; (b) resting baseline and task
phase; and (c) practice and task phase to be made. Since TPR and
CO both relate to SAM and HPA activation and share variance, a
single index was generated for each of these challenge-threat comparisons (see Blascovich et al., 2004; Frings, Hurst, Cleveland,
Blascovich, & Abrams, 2012). zTPR values were subtracted from
zCO values creating a challenge-threat index. Higher values of
this index indicate relative states of challenge, whilst lower scores
indicate relative states of threat (typically interpreted as scores above
0 indicating relative challenge within a sample, and below 0
relative threat).

Forty-eight participants aged between the ages of 18 and 30 were

recruited from a London University. Forty participants (27 female
and 13 male, Mean age = 21.75 years, SD = 2.73) completed the
study. Complete data from the remaining eight participants was not
collected due to equipment malfunction (e.g. sensors detaching
during the study leading to poor quality/absent signals or automatic recalibrations of the blood pressure monitoring equipment

1 Two version of the practice word search were used in an attempt to vary task
diculty. An independent t test was conducted to compare practice phase word search
scores in the easy word search and dicult word search conditions. There was no
signicant difference in the performance between the easy (M = 5.00, SD = 2.77) and
dicult (M = 4.85, SD = 2.99) word search conditions; t(38) = 0.164, p = 0.87. Nor did
the perceived diculty of the easy (M = 7.10, SD = 1.91 and dicult (M = 7.20, SD = 1.88)
conditions differ, t(38) = .17, p = .87. Thus, these conditions were collapsed.

Method

D. Frings et al./Appetite 84 (2015) 161165

Table 1
Mean cardiac indexes by phase.

163

Table 2
Total peripheral resistance and cardiac output reactivity by comparison.

Cardiac index
Phase

HR

TPR

VC

CO

Baseline
Practice
Task

78.65 (9.63)
80.58 (11.02)
80.89 (11.02)

1785.61 (380.49)
1821.31 (426.00)
1796.19 (395.31)

.33 (.03)
.33 (.03)
.33 (.03)

4.41 (.87)
4.56 (1.04)
4.39 (1.13)

Index

Reactivity comparison

Range

M (SD)

TPR

Base vs. practice

Base vs. task
Base vs. practice
Base vs. task
Base vs. practice

579.60513.50
605.30513.50
.952.92
3.981.26
5.522.38

35.70 (237.67)
16.41 (266.14)
.01 (.85)
.16 (.61)
0.00 (1.68)

3.703.20

0.00 (1.58)

CO
Challenge/
threat index

Note: Standard deviations in parentheses. TPRs are around the high end of the normal
human range due to the use of spot electrodes instead of more invasive strip electrodes for ICG measurement.

Base vs. task

Word search
Two word searches were used. Both comprised a total of 15 target
words (in the rst these were; baby, bird, cheek, doll, drum, ear,
happy, hopscotch, jar, wings, monkey, room, smile, spider, turtle.
In the second; elephant, football, kick, point, sunglasses, dance, head,
mosquito, scissors, telephone, chair, jump, mouth, skip, tail), in a
20 20 grid.

Results
Challenge and threat measures
Table 1 shows mean cardiac indexes by phase. To check for task
engagement, a comparison of HR was undertaken between the baseline condition and the practice phase, t(39) = 2.42, p = .02, and the
baseline condition and the task phase, t(39) = 2.66, p = .011. These
increases indicate participants were engaged in the task. Levels of
HR reactivity (calculated by subtracting practice/task phase HR from
the baseline HR) did not correlate with craving scores, rs < .11, p = .49.
This indicates that those with both high and low craving were equally
engaged with the tasks. Patterns of TPR and CO reactivity can be
seen in Table 2, alongside variances and ranges associated with
challenge/threat indexes. Variance between phases of the challenge and threat indexes both above and below 0 indicated that some
participants were challenged (e.g. experienced vasodilation between
the baseline and other phases due to SAM activation) and some
threatened (e.g. vasodilatation was countered by vasoconstriction
due to HPA activation) during the task phase.

Task diculty
A 10 point Likert scale (1 = extremely easy, 10 = extremely dicult) in response to the item Please rate how dicult you felt the
practice task was was used to assess the diculty of the practice
phase word search (see Procedure sub-section, below).
Procedure
After giving informed consent, all participants were connected
to the cardiovascular measurement system. A ve minute baseline period was undertaken in which participants were asked to rest
and relax. Data from the nal two minutes of this baseline were used
to determine resting cardiac states. Participants then completed the
CCQ and were told that they would complete two word searches
a practice and a task search. Prior to completing the searches, participants were told that they would earn a piece of chocolate for
any ve words that they found in the task word search and a whole
bar of chocolate if they managed to nd more than ten (in reality,
each participant was rewarded with a full bar). Participants were
instructed they would have a few minutes (and given ve) to complete the practice word search phase (and two more to rate its
diculty) and the same to complete the task word search phase.
As is standard in BPSM research, the rst two minutes of these phases
were used to calculate cardiac reactivity. Upon completion of both
phases, all participants were weighed and had both their height and
wrist size measured (these measures are used in calculation of impedance across the thorax). They then received a funnel debrieng
(see Bargh & Chartrand, 2000; none suspected the experimental hypothesis of the study), a nal debrieng and received their chocolate.

Craving and performance

The mean CCQ score was 2.28 (SD = .75). Mean task performance in the practice phase was 4.93 (SD = 2.85), and in the task
phase was 6.65 (SD = 2.84). Mean perceived diculty of the second
task was 7.15 (SD = 1.87).

Correlational analyses
Zero-order correlational analyses were undertaken to assess the
relationship between practice-phase word search scores and nal
task word search scores (see Table 3). These revealed that there
was a positive correlation between levels of challenge experienced by individuals and increased chocolate craving during both
the practice and the task phases.

Table 3
Relationships between chocolate craving, challenge/threat states and task performance.
Chocolate
craving
Chocolate craving
Base vs. practice challenge/threat index
Base vs. task challenge/threat index
Practice vs. task challenge/threat index
Practice phase score
Task phase score
Task diculty

.39*
.40*
.08
.03
.11
.16

Base vs. practice

challenge/threat
index

Base vs. task

challenge/threat
index

Practice vs. task

challenge/threat
index

Practice
phase
score

Task
phase
score

.56**
.33*
.01
.05
.10

.59***
.10
.05
.14

.12
.12
.08

.71*
.59***

.58***

Note: Pearsons zero order coecients shown. For all correlations, n = 40. *, p < .05, **, p < .01, ***, p < .001.

Task
diculty

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D. Frings et al./Appetite 84 (2015) 161165

Discussion
The current study aimed to test the extent to which craving is
linked to motivational states and related physiological reactivity.
Working within the BPSM, the current study predicted that craving
may be linked to a state of psychological challenge (resulting in
changes in HPA and SAM activation, indexed by changes in the cardiovascular system). The current ndings supported this hypothesis:
The key ndings were positive correlations between levels of craving
for chocolate and increases in levels of challenge observed between
the baseline and practice phases and also between the baseline and
task phases. This shows that participants who craved chocolate experienced states of challenge when they faced the prospect of
winning chocolate. Those who craved chocolate to a lesser extent
did not. Task performance did not correlate with either challenge
or threat states or levels of craving, suggesting that participants
ability to complete the task was not inuencing their motivational states. Equally, the lack of correlation between task phase
perceived diculty and challenge threat responses suggests that
perceived diculty was not driving motivational responses.
These ndings advance our understanding of both challenge and
threat states, and also the experience of craving. The BPSM argues
that challenge/threat states are activated by an evaluation of the
relevant balance of resources and demands. Previous research has
identied a number of factors which can act as demands (e.g. as
risk, uncertainty, and diculty) and resources (e.g. social support,
expertise and ability) (Blascovich & Mendes, 2000). However, to date,
little research has examined the role of potential gains directly (cf.
Chalabaev et al., 2009; Seery et al., 2009). In the current study, a
potential gain was offered (pieces of chocolate). For some (those with
high craving) this was assumed to be a valued reward; whilst for
others (those with low craving) less so. Levels of task engagement
did not vary as a result of craving, but states of challenge and threat
did. These ndings suggest that a high value reward (i.e. one which
is craved) could potentially act as a resource within the BPSM model.
An additional nding relevant to the BPSM was the lack of correlation observed between craving and changes in challenge states
between the practice and task phases. Although null ndings should
be interpreted with caution, this could suggest that changes in appraisals (leading to variation in challenge states) between anticipating
the opportunity to try and gain a reward (in the practice phase) and
actually attempting to secure it (in the task phase) are not differentially inuenced by the value of the reward. This could well be
because this particular resource remained constant and thus variations in challenge between these phases were due to changes in other
(unmeasured) demands/resources.
A second novel insight the current study provides is to map out
some neuroendocrine effects of craving. Specically, people who
craved chocolate experienced increased sympathetic-adrenalmedullar system activation relative to those that did not. As noted
above, SAM activation is linked to performance improvements in
a variety of domains.
Taken together these ndings highlight the relative importance of the experience of craving on motivation. This may be
particularly relevant for people attempting to abstain from a craved
behaviour. There may be little we can do about the activation of
craving (other than restructure the meaning of the experience), but
possibly more in ensuring that the abstainers are aware of the effects
craving will be having on their subsequent motivation (and related
attentional, behavioural and cognitive orientations). In line with this,
the ndings could be explained by metacognitive views of craving
that purport that the craving experience itself is not problematic
but rather the associated activation of thinking styles (such as desire
thinking) (Caselli & Spada, 2010, 2011).
If challenge and threat can be linked to craving, one potentially
interesting avenue for future research would be the extent to which

states of challenge and threat affect the salience and impact alcohol
expectancies (or indeed expectancies held around other behaviours).
Activated by alcohol related cues, the beliefs drinkers hold about
the positive and negative effects of alcohol can inuence drinking
behaviour (including quantity and frequency), risk of alcohol related
harms and the subjective experience of alcohol consumption (see
Jones, Corbin, & Fromme, 2001). States of challenge and threat have
been linked to differing behavioural approaches to situations in combination with strategic motivation (such as having a promotion or
prevention focus, see Sassenberg, Sassenrath, & Fetterman, 2014).
One interesting possibility is that positive or negative alcohol expectancies may interact with levels of challenge/threat to predict
in-the-moment behaviour. As such, motivational states of challenge and threat may moderate or mediate the effects of
expectancies.
There are a number of limitations to the current study which
present avenues for further research. Firstly, the measure of craving
used combines the cognitive aspects of craving (e.g. expectancies)
with the associated behavioural intentions. These items were based
on existing craving questionnaires and the high internal validity of
this scale suggests that these aspects are tapping the same cognitive construct. However, future work could benet from utilizing
more well established scales (e.g. The Craving Experience Questionnaire; May et al., 2014). A second limitation is that the study
failed to manipulate task diculty. In the practice task, most participants achieved the threshold to gain a chocolate reward, which
should result in them perceiving securing chocolate (via adequate
performance) as being likely during the task phase. One possibility is that should task diculty be perceived as too high (i.e. an
additional demand being present) states of threat may have been
observed. Thus, the actual effect of potential craving may vary as a
function of the likelihood of craving fullment. From a BPSM perspective, this is likely: the absence of a demand can potentially act
as a resource, and vice versa. When considering the impact of this
limitation it should be noted that many day-to-day situations in
which cravings are fullled (e.g. choosing to have a cigarette, purchasing a chocolate bar) are well within the actors control. However,
future research should attempt to test the role of potential craving
fullment as a moderator directly by manipulating task diculty
more effectively.
In summary, whilst previous research has examined the inception and escalation of craving, little research has examined the role
craving may have on motivation. The current experiment shows,
for the rst time, that craving can inuence motivational states
resulting in neuroendocrine reactivity. This informs both our understanding of craving, and also the effects of craving on challenge/
threat appraisals.
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