addiction Flashcards
What is an addiction
Addiction is a disorder in which an individual consumes a substance i.e. nicotine, or engages in a particular behaviour i.e. gambling, that is pleasurable but eventually becomes compulsive with harmful consequences.
Addiction is more than simply doing something a lot. Key features are dependence (physical and psychological, tolerance and withdrawal syndrome.
What is meant by psychological dependence in relation to addiction (2)
This is the mental and emotional compulsion to keep taking a substance as the individual believes that they cannot cope with work and social life without a particular drug e.g. alcohol, nicotine or behaviour e.g. gambling
Absence of the drug/behaviour causes the individual to feel anxious or irritable and this leads to a craving for the substance.
What is meant by the term physical dependence in relation to addiction (2)
Physical dependence is a state of the body that occurs when withdrawal syndrome is produced
from stopping the substance use/behavior e.g. Nausea, headaches and shaking.
Explain what is meant by the term withdrawal symptoms (4)
Withdrawal syndrome is the collection of psychological and physical symptoms an individual will experience when they no longer have a substance in their system/engage in a particular behaviour.
Withdrawal syndrome includes low mood, feeling nauseous, achy, in pain or experiencing tremors.
The seriousness of the withdrawal syndrome can depend on a variety of factors:
- The substance used/type of behaviour – What type of substance is being taken/behaviour is being engaged?
- The amount of substance consumed – How much of a substance does an individual take at once?
- Drug-use/behaviour pattern – How often does the substance use/behaviour occur?
Explain what is meant by the term tolerance, provide examples (2-4)
Tolerance arises when you have taken a drug/maintained a certain behaviour for some time, and due to the repeat exposure the response is reduced. When tolerance occurs an individual will need more of it in order to feel the same physical and psychological effects.
Examples include the following :
Cellular tolerance - CT takes place when brain neurons adapt their responsiveness to higher levels of a substance.
Metabolic tolerance - MT takes place when a substance has been metabolised quicker and therefore leaves the body
Behavioural tolerance - When individuals learn through experience to adjust their behaviour to compensate for the effects of the drug e.g. walking more slowly to avoid falling over when drunk.
What are the 3 types of tolerance
Cellular
Metabolic
Behavioural
What is cellular tolerance
CT takes place when brain neurons adapt their responsiveness to higher levels of a substance.
What is metabolic tolerance
MT takes place when a substance has been metabolised quicker and therefore leaves the body
What is behavioural tolerance
When individuals learn through experience to adjust their behaviour to compensate for the effects of the drug e.g. walking more slowly to avoid falling over when drunk.
What is a risk factor
A risk factor is anything internal or external that increases the likelihood of an individual starting to use drugs or engage in addictive behaviour.
What are the five risk factors
Genetic vulnerability
Stress
Personality
Family influence
Peers
Genetic vulnerability introduction (what is genetic vulnerability)
It is a possibility that we may inherit a predisposition/vulnerability that increases the risk of this disorder (addiction).
Genetic vulnerability can explain why some individuals become dependent and others do not.
Genetic Vulnerability is explained as an interaction between genes and environmental factors as individual will not become addicted unless they are exposed to the substance or an opportunity.
What are the two reasons genetic vulnerability can occur
D2 receptors
Metabolism
Describe D2 receptors as a reason for why genetic vulnerability occurs
Within the brain we have a number of receptors that communicate with neurotransmitters.
The D2 receptor is responsible for communicating with Dopamine (neurotransmitter). The number of D2 receptors an individual has is determined by genetics.
Having FEWER of these receptors is associated with addiction as this leads to problems with experiencing pleasure from everyday activities e.g. chocolate therefore, they turn to more addictive substances such as nicotine to experience the same feeling of pleasure and compensate for this
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Describe metabolism as a reason for why genetic vulnerability to occur
Some individuals are able to metabolise (break down hertain addictive substances a lot faster than others, therefore making it easier for them to become addicted as they may need more to have the same effects. An individual’s rate of metabolism is inherited through their genes.
For example, Pianezza (1998) found that some people lack a fully functioning enzyme (CYP2A6) which metabolises nicotine, they were less likely to smoke than those with the fully functioning version.
Expression of the CYP2A6 gene is genetically determined.
What is stress
Stress is where an individual experiences a state of arousal (physical and psychological state) that occurs when they believe they do not have the ability to cope with the perceived threat.
Describe stress as a risk factor in the development of addiction
Stress is where an individual experiences a state of arousal (physical and psychological state) that occurs when they believe they do not have the ability to cope with the perceived threat.
People who experience stress may turn to addictive substances or behaviours as a form of self-medication for stress (to avoid pain or to cope).
Periods of chronic, long lasting stress and traumatic life events in childhood have been linked with increased risk of developing an addiction.
Anderso and Teicher (2008) found that early experiences of severe stress have damaging effects on a young brain in a sensitive period of development and can create a vulnerability to later stress. Further stressful experiences in later life could trigger the vulnerability and make it more likely that a person may self-medicate with substances or behavioural addictions.
Describe personality as a risk factor in the development of addiction
Psychologists have proposed an addictive personality suggesting a correlation between certain traits and addiction.
It is suggested that anti-social personality disorder leads to a high vulnerabity to addiction; which can include neurotic and psychotic personality traits (Evsenck).
High levels of neuroticism = High levels of anxiety, irritability, and low self-efficacy.
High levels of psychoticism = aggressive, impulsive and sometimes emotionally detached - leading to risk tasking and sensation seeking behaviour.
Individuals who have these pathological personalities are more likely to become addicts as the behaviour/substance helps them and offers relief.
What are high levels of neuroticism
High levels of anxiety, irritability, and low self-efficacy.
What are high levels of psychoticism
aggressive, impulsive and sometimes emotionally detached - leading to risk tasking and sensation seeking behaviour.
Describe family influences as a risk factor in the development of an addiction
Family members can have an effect on an individual’s thoughts, feelings and behaviour’s over the course of their development.
One family influence which can create vulnerability to addiction is perceived parental approval. If an adolescent believes their parents show positive attitudes towards a particular addictive substance/behaviour, then they will be more vulnerable to developing the addiction themselves.
Livingstone et al found that final year high school students who were allowed by their parents to drink alcohol at home were significantly more likely to drink excessively at college (uni) the following year.
Also, adolescents who believe that their parents have little interest in monitoring their behaviour (e.g. internet use, peer relations) are significantly more likely to develop an addiction.
Also, exposure within family life to a substance/behaviour creates risk of developing an addiction. Social Learning Theory could play a role. An individual could observe a family member (role model) engaging in addictive behaviour and imitate this behaviour as they identify with them and want to be like them.
Describe peers as a risk factor in the development of addiction
An individual’s peers are people who share their interests, age, similar backgrounds and social status.
Peers can influence an individual’s development during adolescence as they spend more time with them and less with their family.
Some psychologists may argue that peers may act as gateways to addictive behaviour.
O’Connell et al (2009) suggests that adolescents are at risk of developing alcohol addiction due to the influence of their peers because of three major elements:
- Attitudes and norms to drinking alcohol - the at risk individuals attitudes and norms to drinking alcohol can be influence by associating with groups of peers who drink alcohol (NSI and ISI)
- Opportunities to drink alcohol - The experienced peers provide more opportunities for the at risk individual to drink alcohol.
- Individual’s perception - The individual may over-estimate how much their peers drink, and therefore drink more to ‘keep up with them’.
What are the two explanations for nicotine addiction
- Brain neurochemistry including the role of dopamine
- Learning theory as applied to smoking behaviour including reference to cue activity
Introduction for brain neurochemistry including the role of dopamine
Brah neurochemistry is an internal (biological) explanation for nicotine addiction, that relates to the chemicals inside the brain that regulate psychological functioning: It states that a nicotine addiction is formed due to the repeated activation of the brain’s reward pathway. Here is what happens inside the brain when an individual smokes a cigarette:
Describe neurochemistry, including the role of dopamine as an explanation of nicotine addiction
- Individual smokes a cigarette and inhales nicotine, and reaches the blood stream and activates nicotinic acetvIcholine receptors (nACh) in the ventral tegmental area (VTA) of the brain in less than 10 seconds.
- Dopamine is released from the VTA down the mesolimbic pathway to the D2 receptors on the nucleus accumbens
(NAc) responsible for the feeling of pleasure, euphoria and relaxation. - When dopamine hits to NAc this triggers release of more dopamine from the NAc down the mesocortical pathway to the PRE-FRONTAL CORTEX, responsible for what we pay attention to and decision making, the person then makes
the decision to smoke again (in order to experience to the same pleasurable feelings, reduced anxiety). - Therefore, explaining why people repeatedly smoke and become addicted to nicotine
Describe the learning theory an an explanation for nicotine addiction
One plausible explanation is that smoking is a learnt behaviour through operant conditioning.
Forming the addiction - Smoking behavidur could be explained by positive reinforcement. The individual is rewarded with the feeling of euphoria when they inhale nicotine, due to it’s impact on the dopamine system in the brain’s reward pathway. Therefore the person will smoke again to get the same reward of euphoria.
Maintaining the addiction - can explain why an individual would continue to smoke. Cessation of nicotine (stopping smoking) leads to the appearance of withdrawal syndrome which has unpleasant symptoms such as disturbed sleep, agitation and poor concentration. These symptoms make it difficult for a smoker to abstain for long and therefore an individual would continue to smoke to avoid the unpleasant symptoms (negative symptoms)
Nicotine addiction can also be explained by classical conditioning as a person may associate their nicotine addiction with pleasure.
Describe cue reactivity as a learning explanation for nicotine addiction
The pleasurable effect of smoking (nicotine) is known is known as the primary reinforcer because of it’s rewarding effect on the dopamine reward system (euphoria), this is not learnt.
Any other stimuli that are repeatedly present at the same time as the nicotine, or just before, (such as a lighter, certain friends, places), over time, become associated with this pleasurable feeling. These stimuli are called the secondary reinforcers, because they have taken on the properties of the primary reinforcer (nicotine), and become rewarding in their own right.
These secondary reinforcers (certain friends, places and smells) also act as cues, because their presence produces a similar psychological (craving) and physiological (increased heart rate reaction to the nicotine itself- this is cue reactivity.
These reactions makes a person want to smoke again (seek primary reinforcement. This can explain why individuals sometimes relapse and/or maintain their addiction to nicotine.
What are the explanations of gambling addiction
Learning theory as applied to gambling (partial and variable reinforcement)
Cognitive theory including reference to cognitive bias
How do you form the addiction as part of the learning theory as applied to gambling
Social learning theory
How do you maintaining addiction as part of the learning theory as applied to gambling
Operant conditioning
Describe forming addiction, the social learning theory
A gambling addiction can form due to the experience ofobserving a role model being rewarded for their gambling behaviour (vicarious reinforcement). The reward could be their enioyment in gambling or the occasional wins and financial returns they gain. This observation doesn’t have to be direct it can be through newspapers, magazine or the media.
For example, hearing about someone winning big on the lottery could make a person more likely to gamble
to gain the same reward.
Describe maintaining the addiction, the operant conditioning
Both positive and negative reinforcement can explain an addiction to gambling.
Gambling can provide two kinds of positive reinforcements; the reward of winning money and the ‘buzz’ excitement from gambling. Therefore, the gambling behaviour is likely to be repeated to gain the same reward.
Gambling can also be seen as a distraction for some from anxieties of everyday life. Gambling can act as negative reinforcement to distract the individual from their unpleasant feelings and anxiety. Therefore, they will continue to engage in gambling behaviour to avoid the negative consequence of anxiety.
Define the term partial reinforcement
Partial reinforcement is where a behaviour is reinforced only some of the time.
If a person is rewarded every time they may become bored, therefore partial reinforcement enables a person to develop an addiction due to reinforcements being limited to only some of the time, and not consistently, therefore making the gambling more exciting (rewarding) as the individual is unsure when they will next win, so the behaviour does not extinguish, even when the wins stop.
Define the term variable reinforcement
This is a type of partial reinforcement where behaviour is reinforced an unpredictable amount of times (at variable intervals)
e.g. you win at black jack on the 15th time, then on the 2nd time, the on th 7th etc.
This highly more reinforcing (rewarding) as it is highly unpredictable and exciting and therefore leads to stronger, more persistent gambling behaviour.
Cognitive theory introduction - what is cognitive bias
The cognitive approach sees addictive behaviour as a result of cognitive distortions and/or faulty thought processes. Cognitive bias is where a person’s thinking, memory and attentional processes are faulty leading an individual to make irrational judgements and poor decisions. These biases influence how gamblers think about their behaviour, what they pay attention to, what they remember and what
they forget
Who classified cognitive bias into categories and how many categories
Rick wood et al (2010)
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