A Psychological Model of Addiction

Question 1

What is the definition of addiction?

Answer 1

Addiction is a chronic condition involving repeated powerful motivation to engage in a behaviour, acquired as a result of engaging in that behaviour, with potential for significant unintended harm.

Question 2

What is physical dependence?

Answer 2

Refers to physiological adaptations due to use of a substance.

Question 3

What is psychological dependence?

Answer 3

Refers to powerful motivation to use a drug or to engage in a particular behaviour repeatedly.

Question 4

What is the estimated global prevalence of alcohol use?

Answer 4

43.5%

Question 5

What is the estimated global prevalence of tobacco use?

Answer 5

22.5%

Question 6

What is the estimated global prevalence of cannabis use?

Answer 6

3.5%

Question 7

Describe the PRIME psychological model of addiction.

Answer 7

Question 8

Within the ‘plans’ motivational subsystem, describe the nature of the problem in alcohol misuse.

Answer 8

• Impaired ability to create, store or retrieve effective plans to inhibit the behaviour; failure to generate sufficiently strong wants and needs from the plans.
• See lecture for examples.

Question 9

Within the ‘evaluations’ motivational subsystem, describe the nature of the problem in alcohol misuse.

Answer 9

• Biased processing or recall of information leading to inaccurate beliefs about the costs and benefits of the addictive behaviour.
• See lecture for examples.

Question 10

Within the ‘motives’ motivational subsystem, describe the nature of the problem in alcohol misuse.

Answer 10

• Powerful wants or needs directly resulting from experiences of engaging in or abstaining from the behaviour.

Question 11

Within the ‘impulses / inhibitions’ motivational subsystem, describe the nature of the problem in alcohol misuse.

Answer 11

• Strong learned associations between cues and impulses to attend to addiction-related stimuli, and engage in the addictive behaviour; inadequate mechanisms for translation inhibition into response termination or avoidance.

Question 12

What are the processes included in models of addiction?

Answer 12

• Cost-benefit analysis
• Incentive sensitisation
• Reward seeking
• Attachment
• Drive reduction
• Distress avoidance
• Social influence
• Impaired control
• Classical conditioning
• Operant conditioning

Question 13

What population level policies would decrease the prevalence of substance misuse?

Answer 13

Population level policies that increase financial cost and restrict availability play an important role in reducing prevalence.