addictive - bio: dopamine Flashcards
(3 cards)
reductionist
P: could be considered reductionist as it offers an oversimple explanation, (altered levels of dopamine), for a complex behaviour that may be effected by a person’s social situation and circumstances, such as acceptability or availability.
E: Studies also suggested that dopanine levels increase in response to aversive stimuli as well as pleasurable ones suggesting the mesolimbic system encourages us to avoid unpleasant stimuli as well as encouraging us to seek out pleasurable ones.
E: research by Liberzon showed increased activation in the nuceus accumbens in war veterans suffering from PTSD when reminded of baltle via combat sounds.
T: This does not match the idea of this area simply being about pleasure, suggesting that the explanation is therefore oversimplified and incomplete
determinist
P: it’s a deterministic explanation of addictive behaviours because it suggests it’s caused by altered levels of dopamnine, a biological process beyond our control. In addition if domaine is causing changes to the frontal cortex influencing decision making then the addicts are no longer in control of their own behaviour.
E: Heather, N., & Robertson, I. (1981) found individuals with alcohol addiction are more likely to seek help when their behavior is framed as being influenced by external factors (such as biological predispositions). Proposing the idea that when addiction is seen as “out of control” or beyond personal responsibility, individuals are less likely to feel shame and are more open to seeking treatment.
T: If viewed as beyond the addicts control = help decrease the stigma assocated with addiction + if we can encourage individuals with addiction to seek help —> proves useful for helping promote treatment
C: alternatively, it may mean the addict feels that their addictve behaviours are beyond their control so they feel powerless to change —> so they don’t bother trying to
supporting research
P: Other psychologists, such as David Nutt, criticise suppporting research of the dopamine explanation due to issues with the sample used
E: David Nutt et al (2015) critiques samples being too small and therefore not very generalisable. He also brings attention to the difficulty of souring participants that are generalisable to other addicts due to the fact that they are sourced from treatment centres, where they all share similar characteristics and attitudes that make their drug experiences different to others.
T: both these factors of the sample’s size and its characteristics contribute to most supporting research having a low population validity and therefore generalisability of the research itself.
C: furthermore Nutt also notes that the drugs are administered in different forms than everyday situations (e.g. THC in oral form rather than cannabis joints smoked.). Paired up with the highly sterile lab conditions and machinery that don’t reflect a more natural setting, it lowers the ecological validity of this research as well as the overall validity of the explanation itself
