Addiction- Psych

Question 1

Define addiction

Answer 1

Addiction is a disorder in which the individual consumes a substance eg nicotine or engages in a particular behaviour eg gambling that is pleasurable but eventually becomes compulsive with harmful consequences

Question 2

What is meant by psychological dependence

Answer 2

-Mental compulsion to keep taking substance as the individual believes they can not cope with work without the particular drug or behaviour, it can either increase their pleasure to decrease discomfort
-Absence of drug/ behaviour causes person to become anxious or irritable leading to craving for the substance

Question 3

What is meant by physical dependence

Answer 3

State of the body where withdrawal syndrome is produced by the body in response to stopping the substance or behaviour eg nausea and headaches

Question 4

What is meant by withdrawal syndrome 4marks

Answer 4

-the collection of psychological and physical symptoms the person has when they are no longer taking the substance or doing the behaviour
withdrawal symptoms includes feeling nauseous and being achy or in pain
-when experienced person feeling very unpleasant and so continue to take the substance or ipengage in behaviour to avoid the withdrawal syndrome
- seriousness of withdrawal syndrome can be affected by factors such as the type of substance or behaviour being done, the amount of substance consumed and drug use referring to how long and how often the individual does behaviour or substance

Question 5

What is meant by tolerance 2-4 marks

Answer 5

• occurs when substance or behaviour is done for some time and due to repeated exposure the response to substance/ behaviour is reduced
• when this occurs person will have to take greater doses in order to feel the same physical and psychological effects
  -metabolic tolerance= body metabolises substance faster and so it is removed from the body quicker
  -cellular tolerance= brain neurones adapt their responsiveness to higher levels of substance

Question 6

Genetic vulnerability as a risk factor to addiction

Answer 6

We can inherit a predisposition which increases the risk of developing an addiction
Genetic vulnerability can explain why some people become dependent while others do not
Genetic vulnerability- interaction between genes and environmental factors so individual will not become addicted unless they are exposed to substance or opportunity

Question 7

Two reasons why genetic vulnerability occur

Answer 7

D2 receptor
Metabolism

Question 8

D2 receptor as a reason for genetic vulnerability

Answer 8

D2 receptor responsible for communicating dopamine number of these receptors determined by genetics
Fewer receptors associated with addiction as it leads to problems experiencing pleasure from everyday activities eg chocolate so turn to more addictive substances such as nicotine to experience same level of pleasure

Question 9

Metabolism as a reason for genetic vulnerability

Answer 9

Some people can metabolise addictive substances faster than others so it is easier for them to become addicted as they may need more to have the same effect
Rate of metabolism inherited through genes
Pianezza(1998) people who lack fully functioning enzyme which breaks down nicotine were less likely to smoke than those with the faulty enzyme

Question 10

Genetic vulnerability AO3

Answer 10

Research is based on correlation so cause and effect can not be established
Rts by Kendler et al

Question 11

Cognitive theory to explain addiction

Answer 11

-addictive behaviour a result of cognitive distortions
-cognitive bias where a persons thinking is faulty leading them to make irrational judgments and poor decisions
- biases influence how gamblers think about their behaviour and what they pay attention to
-Rick wood et al classifies cognitive biases into four categories

Question 12

What are the 4 categories identified by Rickwood et al of cognitive bias

Answer 12

Faulty beliefs
Ritual behaviour
Selective recal
Faulty perceptions

Question 13

Faulty beliefs of skill- cognitive bias

Answer 13

Gambling addicts have an illusion of control which means they overestimate their ability
Eg they believe they are skilled at choosing a lottery number making them more likely to gamble

Question 14

Ritual beliefs of cognitive bias

Answer 14

Addicted gamblers believe they have a greater probability of winning over other people because they are lucky or have engaged in certain behaviour eg touching a certain item of clothing making them more likely to win

Question 15

Selective recall- cognitive bias

Answer 15

Addictive gamblers remember certain types of information better than others eg more likely to recall their wins and forget their losses describing them as unexplainable mysteries

Question 16

Faulty perceptions- cognitive bias

Answer 16

Addicted gamblers have a distorted view about the operation of chance eg belief that a losing streak can’t last and will be broken by a win and so making them more likely to gamble