Addictive Behaviour- Characteristics

Question 1

What are the 6 characteristics of addiction?

Answer 1

1. Salience
2. Mood modification
3. Tolerance
4. Withdrawal symptoms
5. Conflict
6. Relapse

Question 2

Describe salience: (2)

Answer 2

-The behaviour is the most important activity in the addicts life.
-Dominates their thoughts & feelings, even when not engaged with it.

Question 3

Describe mood modification:

Answer 3

-Addicts experience a ‘high’ or escape and they use addiction as a self-medication technique to cope with their problems.

Question 4

Describe tolerance: (2)

Answer 4

-Individual needs more of drug to experience same effects as when they first started taking the drug as they have built a tolerance.
- Griffiths (1993) found gamblers’ heart rates decreased faster than non-regular gamblers, implying they needed to continue gambling quickly to achieve arousal.

Question 5

Describe withdrawal symptoms:

Answer 5

-When the behaviour is stopped, withdrawal symptoms (physical/psychological) occur

Question 6

Describe conflict:

Answer 6

-Addicts often experience this between their peers (interpersonal) by compromising their relationships at the expense of drug use.
-Addicts experience it within themselves (intrapsychic). They may tell themselves that they want to stop but they struggle to.

Question 7

Describe relapse:

Answer 7

Addicts have a strong tendency to return to the addictive behaviour, no matter how many years after or even after successful treatment.