Why People Drink; How People Change : A Guide to Alcohol and People's Motivation for Drinking It

This book presents up-to-date scientific information about alcohol based on Cox and Klinger’s motivational model, which has been described as, “the most widely known and influential motivational model of alcohol use” (Cooper et al., 2016, p. 5).  The book, however, was written to be understandable to a broad sector of the population, allowing for an interdisciplinary readership. Those who would find this book beneficial include academics who need nontechnical explanations of why people drink, such as professionals and students in psychology, psychiatry, and related fields, and teachers of high school health classes and university courses in addiction. While not aimed as a self-help book, this book might offer insight as to why a person might not be able to control the urge to drink, or answer questions people may have concerning the effect of alcohol on the brain.

W. Miles Cox is Emeritus Professor of the Psychology of Addictive Behaviours, School of Human and Behavioural Sciences, Bangor University.  He is Founding Editor of Psychology of Addictive Behaviors (APA) and Past President of the APA Division on Addictions.  His cognitive-motivational research in addictive behaviors has focused on the interplay between the drinkers' incentives in other life areas and their motivation to drink alcohol.  A Fellow in the American Psychological Association and the British Psychological Society and a Charter Fellow in the American Psychological Society, Cox has published widely.

Eric Klinger is Professor Emeritus of Psychology at the University of Minnesota, Morris and served as an adjunct professor at the University of Minneapolis. His research activities focus on motivational processes, especially as both motivational and emotional processes influence attention, recall, and thought content.  He has contributed to basic theory of motivation and its extension to substance use, treatment of alcoholism, and depression. A Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and of the American Psychological Association, and a Charter Fellow of the American Psychological Society, Klinger has published many works.