Addiction Flashcards
What is an addiction
a disorder in which an individual
consumes a substance or engages in a particular behaviour
that is pleasurable but becomes compulsive
with harmful consequences
what does psychological dependence mean
-This is the mental/emotional compulsion to keep taking a substance/continuing behaviour
-as the indiv. believes that they cannot cope with work/social life without a particular drug/behaviour
-Absence of the drug/behaviour causes the individual to feel anxious/irritable and this leads to a craving for the substance
what does physical dependence mean
-A state of the body that occurs when withdrawal syndrome is produced
-from stopping the substance use/behavior
-e.g. Nausea/headaches/shaking
what does tolerance mean
-taken a drug/maintained a certain behaviour for some time
-due to the repeat exposure, the response is reduced
-When tolerance occurs an indiv. will need more of it in
order to feel the same physical/psychological effects
Cellular tolerance meaning
CT takes place when brain neurons adapt their
responsiveness to higher levels of a substance
behavioural tolerance meaning
When indiv. 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
metabolic tolerance
MT takes place when a substance has been metabolised quicker and therefore leaves the body
what is meant by withdrawal syndrome
-the collection of psychological/physical symptoms an indiv. 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/experiencing tremors
the factors that affect withdrawal syndrome
- 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?
What are all the risk factors that affect the development of addiction
genetic vulnerability
stress
personality
family influences
peers
what is a risk factor
anything internal/external that increases the likelihood of an indiv.starting to use drugs or engage in addictive behaviour
Genetic vulnerability AO1
-A person may inherit faulty genes which gives them an increased risk of getting an addiction
-Two reasons for increased risk:
-D2 Receptors – inherit low levels/fewer D2 dopamine receptors
so feel less of a reward/pleasure from behaviour
so have to use more to feel the same effect
-Metabolism - Some people inherit a metabolism that means their
body breaks down addictive substance quicker need
to use more to feel same effect.
Stress AO1
-Addiction is more likely to occur when indiv. believe they cannot cope with stress
-This could be a current long-lasting stressful event/trauma from childhood
-This puts them at risk as they use addictive behaviours as a coping mechanism
-e.g. someone experiencing high stress levels may smoke in order to reduce stress levels therefore leading to a nicotine addiction
Personality AO1
-Psychologists have proposed an addictive personality suggesting a correlation between certain traits and addiction
-There are a number of personality traits that are linked to
addictive behaviours
-It is suggested that ‘Antisocial Personality Disorder’ leads to a high
vulnerability to addiction, which can include neurotic and psychotic personality traits:
-High levels of neuroticism = High levels of anxiety/irritability/low self-efficacy
-High levels of psychoticism = aggressive/emotionally detached
-Indiv. who have these personalities are more likely to become addicts as it offers them relief
-Another key personality trait may be impulsivity, leading to risk taking and sensation seeking behaviour
Family influences AO1
-Family members can have an effect on an indiv. thoughts feelings/ behaviours over the course of their development
-perceived parental approval= adolescent believes that parents have positive attitudes towards a specific behaviour/substance
-they will be more vulnerable to developing the addiction themselves
-little interest in monitoring their behaviour e.g. internet use are sig. more likely to develop an addiction
-exposure within family life to a substance/behaviour creates risk of developing an addiction e.g. more likely to start using alcohol in families where it is an everyday feature of family life
-Social Learning Theory could play a role
-An indiv. 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
Peers AO1
-An indiv. peers are people who share their interests /age/ similar backgrounds/ social status
-spend more time with them and less with their family
-Social Learning theory can explain addiction
-Indiv. may observe their peers and imitate this behaviour as they and want to be like their peers
-Some psychologists may argue that peers may act as gateways to addictive behaviour
O’Connell et al (2009) suggests addiction from peers due to these elements:
- Attitudes and Norms to drinking alcohol
- Opportunities to drink alcohol
- Individual’s perception - An indiv. may overestimate how much their peers drink so drink more to ‘keep up with them’
Evaluate risk factors AO3 Cause and Effect
-Research is based on correlational research
-cause and effect cannot be established
-Research has shown a link between …. and addiction but it does not show which came first
-e.g. = addiction causes abnormalities in D2 receptors
-e.g. = addiction caused stress/stress caused addiction
-e.g. = addiction causing traits/traits causing addiction
-e.g. = addiction causes seeking out peers with same addiction
-lacks internal validity
-as it does not let us conclude that these factors make someone more at risk to an addiction
Evaluate risk factors AO3 Prac Apps
Each risk factor has prac apps
-Practical Applications
-the principle that low levels of D2 receptors/high metabolism/Peers/high stress in childhood e.g.
-can be used for prevention strategies for addictive behaviours
-e.g. identifying those with genes leads to individualised intervention programmes
-e.g. Social Norms Marketing Advertising uses mass media to advertise how much young people really drink is not the norm
-e.g. interventions to help/cope with stress
-e.g. identifying those with APD to develop IIP
-e.g. greater levels of parental monitoring to reduce addiction
-awareness of the risk factors is an important part of applied psychology
How do practical applications help the economy
-positive implications for the economy
-alcohol misuse costs the economy £21.5 billion per year
-successful prevention/treatment will help indiv. stop their addictive behaviour
-reduce negative impact of addiction on the economy
Alternative factor PEEL layout
-An alternative risk factor is
-This suggests
-Therefore
-Link to MP and BP
Brain Neurochemistry including the role of dopamine AO1 process
-nicotine addiction is formed due to the repeated activation of the brain’s reward pathway
-Nicotine is inhaled and reaches the bloodstream
-this activates nACh receptors and the brain’s reward pathway in less than 10 seconds
-Dopamine is released from the VTA down the mesolimbic pathway to the D2 receptors on the NAC
-responsible for the feeling of pleasure/euphoria/relaxation
-When dopamine hits to NAC this triggers release of more dopamine from the NAC down the mesocortical pathway to
-the prefrontal cortex:- responsible for what we pay attention to/decision making (person makes decision to smoke again to experience the same pleasurable feelings/reduced anxiety
-Therefore, explaining why people repeatedly smoke and become addicted to nicotine
Evaluate Brain neurochemistry expl. AO3 RTS
-McEvoy
-studied smoking behaviour in people with schizophrenia who were taking a drug (Haloperidol)
- dopamine antagonist by blocking dopamine receptors =lowering the level of dopamine activity in the brain
-taking the drug showed a significant increase in smoking
-therefore, supporting the role of dopamine as an explanation of addiction to nicotine
-as the patients sought nicotine in order to increase their level of dopamine in the brain and experience euphoria
Evaluate Brain neurochemistry expl. AO3 RTS CA
-sample bias
-uses ppts who have schizophrenia
-They may not be neurotypical
-difficult to generalise the findings on low dopamine activity and smoking behaviour to the target population of smokers without schizophrenia
-limiting how far this study can be used to support the role of dopamine in smoking
Evaluate Brain neurochemistry expl. AO3 biological reductionism
-biological reductionism
-the theory reduces the complex human behaviour of nicotine addiction down to dopamine levels within the brain
-This neglects a holistic approach, which takes into account how a person’s cultural and social context would influence and explain an individual’s nicotine addiction
-e.g. adolescents may develop a nicotine addiction due the wanting to fit in with a particular peer group, rather than the feeling of euphoria
-therefore, the expl. may lack validity as it does not allow us to understand the behaviour in context
Learning theory expl. to smoking: forming the addiction
expl: smoking is a learnt behaviour through operant conditioning
-Smoking behaviour by positive reinforcement
-The individual is rewarded with the feeling of euphoria when they inhale nicotine
-due to its impact on the dopamine system in the brain’s reward pathway
-Therefore the person will smoke again to get the same reward of euphoria
Learning theory expl. to smoking: maintaining the addiction
-Negative reinforcement 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
-therefore an individual would continue to smoke to avoid the unpleasant symptoms (negative reinforcement)
Explain the process of cue reactivity
-The pleasurable effect of smoking (nicotine) 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
Evaluate smoking behaviour as applied to learning theory RTS
-RTS by Carter and Tiffany
-They conducted a meta-analysis of 41 studies into cue reactivity
-They presented dependent, non-dependent smokers and non-smokers with smoking related cues (e.g. lighters, ashtrays and cigarette packets) -Self reported desire (cravings) was measured alongside heart rate (arousal)
-They found that dependent smokers reacted most strongly to the cues for example increased heart rate and reported cravings to smoke
-This supports cue reactivity as an explanation for smoking behaviour because the dependent smokers had learned secondary associations between smoking related stimuli and the pleasurable effects of smoking
Evaluate smoking behaviour as applied to learning theory limitation
-environmental determinism
-this is because is it states that an individual is controlled by reinforcements and associations that cause behaviour
-e.g. if a person is rewarded for smoking by the feeling of euphoria, they will inevitably smoke again to get the same reward
-This neglects the role of free will and choice and individual has
-e.g. a person may choose not to continue smoking despite the pleasurable reward, for health reasons
-The learning theory cannot account for this and therefore may not be a full explanation of smoking behaviour
Evaluate smoking behaviour as applied to learning theory strength
-practical applications
-This is because the principles of the theory, that addiction is caused by pleasant associations (cue reactivity) has led to
-behavioural interventions such as aversion therapy and covert sensitisation
-This is effective in treating nicotine addiction by encouraging a patient to re-associate nicotine with negative feelings for example, nausea, rather than a feeling of pleasure
-Therefore, the learning theory of smoking behaviour is an important part of applied psychology as it helps treat nicotine addiction in the real world
Learning theory expl. to gambling: forming the addiction
-A gambling addiction can form due to the experience of observing a role model being rewarded for their gambling behaviour (vicarious reinforcement)
-The reward could be their enjoyment 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
-e.g. hearing about someone winning big on the lottery could make a person more likely to gamble to gain the same reward
Learning theory expl. to gambling: maintaining the addiction
Operant conditioning:
Gambling can provide two kinds of positive reinforcements:
the reward of winning money
‘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
What is partial reinforcement
where a behaviour is reinforced only some of the time
if a person is rewarded every time, become bored
partial reinforcement enables a person to develop an addiction due to reinforcements being limited
making gambling more exciting as an individual is unsure when they will next win so behaviour does not extinguish; even when the win stops
two types of partial reinforcement
fixed rate
variable reinforcement
what is fixed rate
behaviour is reinforced a predictable amount of times
e.g. a slot machine paying out every tenth time
This does NOT form an addiction
what is variable reinforcement
behaviour is reinforced an unpredictable amount of times
(at variable intervals)
e.g. you win at blackjack on the 15th time, then on the 2nd time
This highly more reinforcing (rewarding)
as it is highly unpredictable/exciting
therefore leads to stronger, more persistent gambling behaviour
