Addiction: Explanations for nicotine addiction - Learning theory

Question 1

What is one plausible explanation that smoking is learnt through?

Answer 1

Operant conditioning

Question 2

What happens when forming the addiction?

Answer 2

Explained by positive reinforcement
Individual is rewarded with feeling of euphoria when they inhale the nicotine due to impact on dopamine system in brain’s reward pathway, smoke again to experience same feeling of euphoria

Question 3

What happens when maintaining the addiction?

Answer 3

Explained by negative reinforcement
Cessation of nicotine leads to appearance of withdrawal syndrome which has unpleasant symptoms
Makes it difficult for smoker to abstain for long time, so continue to smoke to avoid unpleasant symptoms

Question 4

What is cue reactivity?

Answer 4

Cues that trigger cravings

Question 5

What is the primary reinforcer?

Answer 5

Pleasureable effect of smoking

Question 6

Why is the primary reinforcer called that?

Answer 6

Due to the rewarding effect on the dopamine reward system
Not leartn

Question 7

What are secondary reinforcers?

Answer 7

Any other stimuli repeatedly present at the same time as the nicotine over time becomes associated with this pleasureable feeling

Question 8

Why is the secondary reinforcer called that?

Answer 8

They have taken on the properties of the primary reinforcer and become rewarding in their own right

Question 9

What do the secondary reinforcers also act as?

Answer 9

Cues as their presence produces a similar psychological and physiological reaction to the nicotine itself
AKA cue reactivity

Question 10

What do the reactions make a person want to do?

Answer 10

Smoke again
Can explain why individuals sometimes relapse/maintain addiction to nicotine

Question 11

1 - RTS by Carter and Tiffany - What did they do?

Answer 11

Conducted a meta-analysis of 41 studies into cue reactivity

Question 12

1 - What did they present?

Answer 12

Dependent, non-dependent smokers and non-smokers with smoking related cues

Question 13

1 - What was measured?

Answer 13

Self-reported desire was measured alongside heart rate

Question 14

1 - What did they find?

Answer 14

Dependent smokers reacted most strongly to the cues
E.g., increased heart rate and reported cravings to smoke

Question 15

1 - What does this support?

Answer 15

Cue reactivity as an explanation for smoking behaviour because the dependent smokers had learned secondary association between smoking related stimuli and pleasureable effects of smoking

Question 16

2 - However, environmental determinism - What does it state?

Answer 16

An individuals behaviour is controlled by reinforcements (external) and associations that cause behaviour

Question 17

2 - What is an example?

Answer 17

If a person is rewarded for smoking by the feeling of euphoria, will inevitably smoke again to get the same reward

Question 18

2 - What does this neglect?

Answer 18

The role of free will and the choice that individuals have
E.g., may choose not to continue smoking despite the pleasureable effects due to health reasons

Question 19

2 - What is the link?

Answer 19

Learning theory can’t account for this and therefore may not be a full explanation for smoking behaviour

Question 20

3 - Practical applications - What does the theory state?

Answer 20

Addiction is caused by pleasant associations, led to behavioural interventions such as aversion therapy and covert sensitisation

Question 21

3 - What is it effective in?

Answer 21

Treating nicotine addiction by encouraging patient to re-associate nictone with negative feelings
E.g., nausea rather than feelings of pleasure

Question 22

3 - What is the link?

Answer 22

Important part of applied psychology as it helpes treat nictone addiction in the real world