TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2015//
TI  - When the end (automatically) justifies the means: automatic tendency toward sex exchange for crack cocaine
JO  - Motivation science
A1  - Kopetz, Catalina E.
A1  - Collado, Anahi
A1  - Lejuez, Carl W.
SP  - 233
EP  - 244
VL  - 1
IS  - 4
N2  - The current research explores the idea that self-defeating behaviors represent means toward individuals' goals. In this quality, they may be automatically initiated upon goal activation without individual's voluntary intention and thus exemplify the long-held idea that the end justifies the means. To investigate this notion empirically we explored one of the most problematic self-defeating behavior: engagement in sex exchange for crack cocaine. This behavior is common among female drug users despite its well-known health and legal consequences. Although these women know and understand the consequences of such behavior, they have a hard time resisting it when the goal of drug obtainment becomes accessible. Indeed, the current study shows that when the accessibility of such a goal is experimentally increased, participants for whom sex exchange represents an instrumental means to drug obtainment are faster to approach sex-exchange targets in a joystick task despite their self-reported intentions to avoid such behavior.<p />  <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 2333-8113
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/mot0000025
ID  - ref1
ER  -