4. Diferențe individuale in riscul de adicție

Question 1

What are we going to be focusing on today

Answer 1

Genetics and personality traits which are individual differences in risk for addiction

Question 2

Why is it important to look at the role of individual differences in addiction

Answer 2

Only a minority of individuals who initially use a substance or engage in a particular behaviour (gambling) go on to develop an addiction

Therefore we need to consider evidence for a predisposition to addiction

consider what are they key traits and processes that can help us explain why this is the case

Question 3

What are twin studies

Answer 3

A widely used design

Compares monozygotic twins and dizygotic twins reared together

MZ share 100% of genes and DZ share 50% of genes

Question 4

what has been found about twin studies

Answer 4

stronger corerlations in MZ twins compared to DZ twins suggests a genetic component

Question 5

what are limitations of twin studies

Answer 5

assumes MZ and DZ twins experience similar shared environment, which may not always be true

MZ twins may be treated more similarly than DZ twina

Question 6

1. models of personality - Eysenck’s pen model

Answer 6

Psychoticism - associated with impulsivity, aggression and a disregard for social norms

Extraversion - seeking stimulation and social interaction, which may drive experimentation with substances

Neuroticism - emotional instability and anxiety, potentially leading to self-medication through substance use

Question 7

2. models of personality - reinforcement sensitivity theory - BIS, BAS, FFFS

Answer 7

This theory focuses on brain systems related to motivation and emotion

Behavioural inhibition system BIS - sensitive to punishment and non-reward
- overactive BIS may lead to anxiety-related substance use for self-soothing

Behavioural approach system BAS
- sensitive to rewards and pleasure
- high BAS activity may increase risk-taking and pursuit of substances for their rewarding effects

Question 8

3. models of personality - Cloninger’s temperament and character model

Answer 8

Harm avoidance HA - high HA is linked to anxiety and feafulness, potentially leading to avoidance behaviours or substance use for relief

Novelty seeking NS - high NS is associated with impulsivity, risk-taking and seeking new sensations, increasing the likelihood of experimenting with substances

Question 9

4. models of personality - BIG 5

Answer 9

High E can lead to increased social substance use

High N associated with emotional instability and self-medication behaviours

Low C is linked to poor self-control and higher substance use

Question 10

What are some personality traits potentially related to addictive behaviours

Answer 10

1. Traits which reflect a tendency to act without restraint (self control)

-Impulsivity
-Psychoticism
-Low conscientiousness

2. Traits reflecting sensitivity to reward
   - BAS / reward reactivity
   - extra version
3. Traits reflecting negative emotionality
   - neuroticism/ behavioural inhibition/ trait anxiety

Question 11

What is the reinforcement sensitivity theory

Answer 11

Psychological theory that explains how variations in brain systems influence personality and behaviour, particularly in response to rewards and punishments.

We can divide the brain up according to major coordinated systems which influence affect, behaviour and cognition

Any variation in the functioning of these major system must lead to individual differences

Question 12

What are the main systems of the reinforcement sensitivity theory.

Answer 12

BAS - reward
FFFS - punishment
BIS - conflict

Question 13

What is the behavioural approach system

Answer 13

BAS drives behaviours toward achieving rewards and pleasurable outcomes
Associated with hope

based on brain reward pathways and dopaminergic functioning

predicts individual differences in responses to reward

Question 14

What is the personality link with the BAS

Answer 14

People with highly sensitive BAS tend to be more impulsive, sensation/novelty seeking, reward-seeking and extraverted

They are often motivated to take risks for potential rewards

Question 15

What are the Brain areas associated with BAS

Answer 15

BAS activity is linked to dopamine pathways in the brain, especially in areas related to reward processing

Dopamine circuits from midbrain to frontal areas

Question 16

What are the BAS-related traits?

Answer 16

Impulsivity
Psychoticism
Novelty seeking
Extroversion

Question 17

What is trait impulsivity

Answer 17

Tendency to engage in action without thinking.
Tendency towards behaviours that are inappropriate to a situation and often result in undesirable consequences

Question 18

What are the 2 distinct components of impulsivity

Answer 18

Reward sensitivity/drive
Rash impulsiveness

Question 19

1. What is reward sensitivity/drive

Answer 19

Strong motivation to seek out rewards in the environment.

Question 20

2. What is rash impulsiveness

Answer 20

Tendency to act without consideration of possible negative consequences.
Lack of inhibitory control and can lead to behaviours that may be regretted later.

Question 21

what happens when mesolimbic dopaminergic pathways are hyperfunctioning

Answer 21

there is excessive dopamine release or heighteend dopamine signaling in the brains reward system

this is associated with increased reward sensitivity

individuals may become more driven to engage in behs that produce pelasurable sensations or rewards, even to the point of excess

Question 22

What is the role of the orbitofrontal cortex OFC

Answer 22

In the prefrontal cortex
Critical for decision-making and impulse control and helps evaluate the consequences of actions and adjust behaviour accordingly

Question 23

What happens when the OFC is hypofunctioning

Answer 23

leads to rash impulsiveness

Impulsive behaviour and difficulty delaying gratification
Individuals may make decisions without considering long term consequences or potential risks
Difficulty resisting cravings

Question 24

What is the UPPS model

Answer 24

Psychological framework that breaks impulsivity into 4 distinct traits.
Urgency
Lack of premeditation
Lack of perseverance
Sensation seeking

Question 25

What is urgency

Answer 25

The tendency to act impulsively in response to strong emotions. “When I’m upset I often act without thinking”

Question 26

What is lack of premeditation

Answer 26

The inability to plan ahead or to consider the consequences of one’s actions. E.g. deciding to go on a spontaneous road trip without planning essential needs.

Question 27

What is lack of perseverance

Answer 27

The inability to persist with a task, a susceptibility to boredom

Question 28

What is sensation seeking

Answer 28

The tendency to seek out novel, exciting experiences

Question 29

What are the 2 subtypes of urgency

Answer 29

Negative urgency and positive urgency Negative urgency: acting impulsively in response to negative emotions like anger Positive urgency: acting impulsively in response to positive emotions like excitement

Question 30

How do we measure impulsivity

Answer 30

Self report questionnaires which typically ask about everyday behaviours Behavioural tasks - more precise administered in lab environemtns Stop signal task

Question 31

1. what are examples of how to measure impulsivity

Answer 31

Iowa Gambling Task - making short-term decisions without considering long-term consequences delay of gratification - immediate smaller reward or a larger reward after a delay choosing the immediate smaller reward is a sign of impulsivity

Question 32

2. what are examples of how to measure impulsivity

Answer 32

wisconsin card sorting task this task assesses cognitive flexibility, or the ability to switch between different sets of rules impulsive individuals may have difficulty shifting their attention and strategies

Question 33

what is the stop signal task

Answer 33

inhibition task ppts instructed to stop an ongoing action when they hear a signal failure to inhibit the response indicates impulsivity, as individuals with impulsivity often find it difficult to suppress their actions

Question 34

what are problems with measures of impulsivity

Answer 34

self-report mearues (UPPS Impulsive behaviour scale) and behavioural measures do not correlate highly with each other someone who reports high impuslivity on a questionanire might not necessarily show impulsive behaviour on a bheavioural task

Question 35

what did cyders and coskunpinar find

Answer 35

found little evidence of convergence between UPPS traits and various behavioural tasks their correlations were bery low, with r-values all being less than 0.16

Question 36

do individuals at greater risk for substance use and behavioural addiction disorder differ systematically on relevant personality traits

Answer 36

yes

Question 37

what is the evidence of a link between BAS and substance use

Answer 37

some evidence to suggest that both impulsivity and reward sensitivity traits relate to increased use of substances and risk for problem usage BAS drive and BAS fun seeking were related to a number of illegal substances used and measures of alcohol use

Question 38

What has a meta analysis found about impulsivity and alcohol use in adolescence

Answer 38

Meta analysis conducted to examine links between self reported impulsivity and alcohol use for adolescents The urgency traits plus reward drive lead to alcohol consumption and problematic alcohol use sensation seeking and positive urgency were the most correlated with alcohol consumption negative urgency and positive urgency were the most correlated with problematic alcohol use positive urgency was mostly correlated with problem alcohol use and problem cannabis use

Question 39

How is urgency related to substance use

Answer 39

Urgency traits seem to particularly relate to problem levels of substance use They may combine two aspects of behaviour that are more prominent in adolescents at risk for problem substance use: difficulty in controlling actions and difficulty in regulating emotions

Question 40

what is the relationship between impulsivity and cannabis use

Answer 40

sensation seeking predicts cannabis use freuqncy positive urgency predicts problem cannabis use

Question 41

what is the bi-directional nature of the rship between impulsivity and SU

Answer 41

Higher levels of impulsivity may lead to earlier and heavier onset of substance use, which in turn effects impulsivity, further degrading executive functioinign