Addiction Key Terms

Question 1

Addiction

Answer 1

A disorder in which an individual takes a substance or engages in a behaviour that is pleasurable but eventually becomes compulsive with harmful consequences

Question 2

Physical Dependence

Answer 2

A state of the body due to habitual drug use and which results un a withdrawal syndrome when use of the drug is reduced or stopped

Question 3

Psychological Dependence

Answer 3

A compulsion to continue taking a drug because the use of it is rewarding

Question 4

Tolerance

Answer 4

A reduction or response to a drug, so that the addicted individual needs more to get the same effect

Question 5

Withdrawal Syndrome

Answer 5

A set of symptoms that develop when the addicted person abstains from or reduces their drug use

Question 6

Genetic Vulnerability

Answer 6

Any inherited predisposition that increases the risk of a disorder or condition

Question 7

Risk Factors

Answer 7

Any internal or external influence that increases the likelihood someone will start using drugs or engage in addictive behaviours

Question 8

Stress

Answer 8

A physiological and psychological state of arousal that arises when we believe we do not have the ability to cope with a perceived stressor

Question 9

Personality

Answer 9

Patterns of thinking, feeling and behaving that differs between individuals. These are relatively consistent from one situation to another, and over time

Question 10

Family Influences

Answer 10

The effects that other family members have on our thoughts, feeling and behaviours over the course of development

Question 11

Peers

Answer 11

People who share our interests and are of similar age, social status and background to ourselves. Peers become more influential in adolescence, when we spend more time with them and less with family

Question 12

Neurochemistry

Answer 12

Relating to chemicals in the brain that regulate psychological functioning

Question 13

Dopamine

Answer 13

A neurotransmitter that generally has an excitatory effect and is associated with the sensation of pleasure.

Question 14

Cue Reactivity

Answer 14

Cravings and arousal can be trigger when addicts encounter cues related to the pleasurable effects of their addiction

Question 15

Partial Reinforcement

Answer 15

When a behaviour is reinforced only some of the time it occurs (for example: every ten times or at intervals)

Question 16

Variable Reinforcement

Answer 16

A type of partial reinforcement in which a behaviour is reinforced after an unpredictable period of time of number of responses

Question 17

Cognitive Bias

Answer 17

A distortion of attention,memory and thinking. It occurs because of how we process information about the world,especially if it is done quickly.

Question 18

Behavioural Interventions

Answer 18

Any treatment based on behaviourist principles of learning, such as classical and operant conditioning

Question 19

Aversion Therapy

Answer 19

A behaviour treatment based on classical conditioning. A maladaptive behaviour is paired with an unpleasant stimulus. Eventually, the behaviour is associated with the stimulus and the behaviour decreases

Question 20

Covert Sensitisation

Answer 20

A form of aversion therapy based on classical conditioning. Instead of experiencing an unpleasant stimulus, the patient imagines how it would feel

Question 21

Theory of Planned Behaviour

Answer 21

Changes in behaviour can be predicted from our intension to change, which in turn is the outcome of personal attitudes towards the behaviour in question, our beliefs about what other think and our perceived ability to control our behaviour

Question 22

Prochaska’s Six Stage Model

Answer 22

A model that explains the stages people go through to change their behaviour. It identifies six stages of change from not considering it at all to making permanent changes. The stages are not necessarily followed in a linear order