Addiction- ID Eysenck's personality thesis Flashcards
Who is Eysenck and what does he believe?
Psychologist who believed in different personality types
There are 3 dimensions related to personality upon measures
What are the 3 personality dimensions?
Extroversion (lively, sociable and optimistic)
Neuroticism (high anxiety, moody and irritable)
Psychoticism (impulsive, impatient and aggressive
Eysenck and addiction?
People were more vulnerable to addiction due to personality, argued people seek out addiction as a way of meeting a need driven by personality
Which 2 personality types are most likely to have addictions?
Psychoticism
Neuroticism
Francis- what did he find about the correlation of addiction and extraversion/introversion?
10 studies found neg correlation
2 positive
12 not significant
Thus meaning little evidence suggesting link between addiction and E+I is weak
Link between psychoticism and self control?
As Ps have high impulsivity they are tend to act on whims with no consideration of consequence
Meaning high levels of impulsivity lead to people engaging in behaviour or substance with negative consequences as they fail to account for them
Psychoticism- de wit addiction?
Impulsiveness a cause and effect of drug abuse
Feel that smoking wont affect them so don’t harm to indulge
Psychoticism- Dalley et al?
Impulsive rats increased cocaine intake more than low impulsivity rates
Psychoticism- steven et al?
Impulsive individuals less successful in treatment programmes as more likely to drop out and less likely to achieve and maintain abstinence
Neuroticism and stability link to addiction?
People high in neuroticism tend to be anxious, tense, moody and prone to depression
So use addiction to self medicate to deal with stress
Neuroticism and stability- Sinha?
Looked at research in area highlighting role that stress plays on the interaction of addiction, but in risk of relapse when individual tries to abstain if individual more susceptible to stress full they need addictive behaviour to overcome
Neuroticism and stability - Baumeister?
Low self esteem may lead people to act in manners that’s self defeating to escape self awareness
Meaning using addiction to avoid neg feelings
Neuroticism and stability- Mehroof and Griffiths?
Associated with gaming addiction
Online addiction used like substances to escape from problems
Neuroticism and stability- Francis?
Addicts scored higher in neurotics and psychoticism that non addict controls when investigating addition in nicotine, alcohol and BZ
Neuroticism and stability- Sahasi et al?
High levels of P and N in sample on Indian heroin addicts compared to controls
Evaluation- cause and effect?
All the research relies on people that are addicts can’t established weather the personality types caused the addiction effected personality
Evaluation- Cucomo et al?
Conducted a semi skilled interview investigating psychological features of sample prisoners with and without substances and abuse problem
Found prisoners with SA had higher psychoticism and high impulses than prisoners wo SA
More likely to have multiple incarcerations, juvenile detentions, violence and suicide attempts
Higher level of impulsivity
Also more likely to be affected by childhood abuse causing neuroticism
So is it cause and effect or due to environmental factors
Evaluation- cause and effect Dong et al?
A prospective study had addicts before they where addicts carried out a study on chinease uni students
The students we’ve given the EPQ just after entering uni and two years later their addiction to the internet was assesed
Reaserch found higher N and P scores were linked to addiction and the prospective design suggests its cause rather than effect
Evaluation- metholodigcal?
Both self reportmethods so social desirability bais
Could be bias but included lie scales effecting validty
-Adicts more likely to lie to cober up addiction going to extreme lenbth
When supporting reaserch isflawed we must be critical of support for theory as less credible
Evaluation- Role of addiction Ruth McNamara?
Rats found that animals more likely to self administer cocaine but not heroin
Evaluation- Role of addiction Rozin and caryn stoess?
Looked at individuals tendancys to become addicted to a range of different activitys and coild not find a comon pattern
Evaluation- Role of addiction counter argument?
Using rats is unethical in a study
Evaluation- The myth of addictve personality John Kerr?
Idea of addiction personality as one of the myths of addiction and suggests there are so many traits listed that wouldnt be appropriet to refer to an addictive personality as id it were simple of traits that makes some prone to addiction
Evaluation- the link to biological addiction?
Using personality of an explanation for addiction drug not be sufficent of many of the persoanlity characteristics we have seen linked to addiction show a clear relationshp to dopamine functions
Evaluation- ethical determanism?
addiction is not in addicts control its fault of personality
No free will issue for accountability of behaviour
-But removes free will addicts may loose all hope and feel powerless
Evaluation- ethical could be positive?
Addiction seen as a disorder and treated rathar then punsihed
Evaluation- ethical implications for treaten?
Personality cant be easily modified in therapy
However aknowledgment of the role of personality may give scope for intervention to be put in place for both in the treatment and prevention of addiction
