Although they are often used interchangeably, the terms “urges” and “cravings” can be associated with distinct meanings. Thus, Marlatt and Gordon (1985) have defined an urge as a relatively sudden impulse to engage in an act such as alcohol consumption, whereas craving is defined as the subjective desire to experience the effects or consequences of such an act. Nevertheless, the same processes may mediate both urges and cravings. Two such processes have been proposed: (1) conditioning1 elicited by stimuli associated with past gratification and (2) cognitive processes associated with anticipated gratification (i.e., the expectancies for the immediate pleasurable effects of alcohol).
