Psychological Models of Addiction

Question 1

List 6 core features of Addictive Behaviour.

Answer 1

1. Salience (importance)
2. Mood Modification
3. Tolerance (^^ intensity)
4. Withdrawal
5. Conflict (interpersonal/intrapsychic)
6. Relapse

Question 2

What is the Personality model of Addiction?

Answer 2

• one’s personality traits (poor impulse control; low self-esteem, inability to COPE with stress); egocentric, all contribute to addiction

Question 3

What is the MORAL model?

Answer 3

• something MORALLY wrong in the individual

- Willfull violation of societal rules (human weakness)

Question 4

List the disease models in chronological manner or when it orginated.

Answer 4

1. Dispositional Disease Model (30s)
2. Medical Model (70s)
3. Evidence Supporting Medical model

Question 5

What does the dispositional disease model imply?

Answer 5

• causal factor is the INdividual

- addicitive disease is “IRREVERSIBLE”; no cure; unless total ABSTINENCE

Question 6

What does the medical model imply?

Answer 6

• that addiction comes about through genetic and physiological processes
• unique biological conditions CONTRIBUTE to the addiction
• pharmaco of drug is considered

Question 7

What does the ESM model incorporate?

Answer 7

• states addiction is 50% heritable
• physiological processes influence vulnerability
• neural circuits are involved

Question 8

What neural circuit is resp. for BINGE intoxication?

Answer 8

VTA–Ventral Striatum

Question 9

What neural circuit is resp. for withdrawal and negative effect?

Answer 9

Amygdala

Question 10

What is neural circuit is involved in preoccupation/ anticipation (craving)?

Answer 10

prefrontal Cortex, Hippocampus, insula, cingulate gyrus—sites involved in decision making (executive function is impaired with drug use—you might want to stop using drugs but your makes decisions otherwise)

Question 11

How is the executive function involved in drug addiction?

Answer 11

• this function that is essential for making choices of using drugs of not
• helps to OVER-RIDE the strong urge to take subs.

Question 12

With addiction, there is said to be a fault in the Go or Stop system of the brain…what is amplified in drug addiction?

Answer 12

Substance STRENGTHEN the “GO” system > drastic impulsivity seen in BEHAVIOUR and EMOTIONS of those struggling with addiction

Question 13

What are the cons of the Evidence Medical Model?

Answer 13

• medical rx are LESS effective in PROMOTING abstinence

- rxs do not exist for MANY addictive behaviours

Question 14

What do the behavioural models imply?

Answer 14

• that engaging in behaviours are underpinned by principles of reinforcement

Question 15

what is conditioning?

Answer 15

• process of behaviour modification ; where an individual comes to ASSOCIATE a desired behaviour with a previous unrelated stimuli
• dog learns that bell ring means meal time

Question 16

Is substance misuse is a learned behaviour, then rx must involve _________

Answer 16

relearning new behaviours

Question 17

Why does substance misuse become a learned habit?

Answer 17

• because taking subst. is pleasurable
  > likely to LEAD to REWARDING consequences !
  > increased use

Question 18

What theory did Pavlov introduce?

Answer 18

Associative Learning 
(classical conditioning)---a previously neutral stimuli elicits the same resp.

Question 19

What did Skinner introduce?

Answer 19

INSTRUMENTAL LEARNING
(operant conditioning)
- learning by connecting consequences of actions with the preceding behaviour

Question 20

What does reinforcement imply? (3)

Answer 20

• it INCREASES the freq. of behaviour
  (+)ve : use of drugs to feel more relaxed

(-)ve: use of drugs to get rid of withdrawals

Question 21

What does punishment bring about?

Answer 21

• a decrease in FREQ. of behaviour
  (+)ve: being shouted at by partner d.t using

(-)ve: losing home/ family d.t using

Question 22

Distinguish opperant conditioning from classical conditioning.

Answer 22

• classical conditioning pairs 2 stimuli …and brings out involuntary behaviour
• opperant conditioning pair behaviour and response together, and bring out voluntary behaviour

Question 23

Define Habit formation.

Answer 23

• an acquired BEHAVIOUR pattern regularly followed until it becomes ALMOST involuntary
• acquired by learning mechanisms
• automaticity

Question 24

What cognitive processes does addiction recruit?

Answer 24

• attention bias (detection of addiction related cues)
• memory bias (selectively recalls addiction related info.)
  »>involuntary addictive behaviour and LACK OF COGNITION

Question 25

What is seen in Automatic cognitive processing?

Answer 25

• fast
• unintentional
• no effort required
• OUT of AWARENESS

Question 26

How is consciousness and deliberate thought not required when learning new behaviour?

Answer 26

• with practise and repetition, processes becomes AUTOMATIC d/t over-learning
• behavioural seq. is STORED in memory and activ. by cues

Question 27

Why may addictive behaviour come through?

Answer 27

• for a “FEEL GOOD” FACTOR

- as a form of Avoidance

Question 28

What is social learning?

Answer 28

-patterns of behaviour ACQUIRED by watching other people and further ASSIMILATING their actions to their behavioural repertoire