B3- Non-substance-related addiction Flashcards
Gambling addiction
- Cognitive approach
- Learning approach
Shopping addiction
- Learning approach
- Cognitive approach
Non-substance-related addiction
Each addiction consists of:
- initiation
- maintenance
- relapse
Initiation
why people begin an addiction
Maintenance
why people continue in their addiction
Relapse
why people go back to their addiction after trying to quit
Gambling
- Cognitive
Initiation
- cost benefit analysis
Maintenance
- irrational thoughts
- cognitive bias
- illusion of control
Relapse
- recall bias
Cost- benefit analysis
(initiation)
potential costs =
financial costs + anxiety
potential benefits =
enjoyment + financial gain
If a person expects benefits to outweigh costs, they’re likely to gamble
Irrational thoughts
(maintenance)
- thoughts are not rational because our cognition can be distorted
- addicted gamblers are guided by irrational thoughts about probability chance and luck
Gamblers Fallacy
(maintenance)
mistaken belief that if something happens more frequently in a given time, it will happen less frequently in the future
e.g.
five heads tossed in a row predicts a tail will be next
Cognitive bias
(maintenance)
‘near miss’ bias
- instead of interpreting their loss as a loss they see it as a near miss which provides rewards that maintain gambling (tension + excitement)
- an addicted gamblers thinking is biased towards perceiving favourable outcomes
Illusion of control
(maintenance)
- a gambler may believe they can influence a gambling outcome
- superstitious behaviour:
- lucky charms, clothes etc
others think they have special knowledge that makes them experts.
Recall Bias
(relapse)
an addicted gambler who quits is at risk of relapse because their memory is self-serving
- they recall wins and overestimate benefits
- they forget loss and underestimate costs
Evaluation
- strength
Practical application for effective treatments
- a study showed replacing a gamblers irrational thoughts with more rational ones can reduce gambling
- this suggests cognitive distorts underlie addicted gambling behaviour
Evaluation
- weakness
Problems explaining initiation + maintenance
- many people have irrational thoughts about gambling but few ever start
- cognitive factors are’nt enough to explain why people start and continue gambling
Gambling
- learning approach
Initiation
- social learning
- classical conditioning
Maintenance
- positive reinforcement
- negative reinforcement
- partial reinforcement
- variable reinforcement
Relapse
- cue reactivity
Social Learning
(initiation)
many begin gambling through vicarious reinforcement
- also indirect reinforcement through the media
Classical Conditioning
(initiation)
the 1st time a gambler enjoys intense external and internal stimuli they become associated with gambling activity
Positive Reinforcement
(maintenance)
- most gamblers experience a big win, this causes them to continue to try to recreate their win
- near misses are built into gambling and reinforce the behaviour
Negative reinforcement
(maintenance)
- gambling can be an escape to avoid reality
- the temporary relief from everyday anxiety reinforces gambling
Partial reinforcement
(maintenance)
occurs when only some instances of a behaviour are rewarded
e.g fruit machines are programmed to pay out only on some bets, so only reinforced sometimes, makes gambler continue as they want to win next time
Variable Reinforcement
(maintenance)
only a certain proportion of gambles are rewarded
- the gambler isn’t sure when they’ll win so they continue to gamble
- the payout is unpredictable, could be after 2 or 30 spins
Cue reactivity
(relapse)
explains how gambling can be reinstated after gambler has quit
- they encounter many conditioned cues that cause arousal
e.g adverts, colourful scratchcards, noisy flashy casino, busy crowded gambling websites
Evaluation
- strength
Research support
- HFG,LFG = high + low frequency gamblers
- HFG would place bets in the last 2 minutes to prolong their rewards, but LFG would just wait until the next round
Evaluation
- weakness
Role of individual differences
- conditioning doesn’t occur in the same way in every gambler
- people gamble for different reasons, some can quit easily others cannot
- includes cognitive factors
Shopping
- Learning approach
Initiation
- vicarious reinforcement
- celebrities
Maintenance
- positive reinforcement
- adrenaline
- negative reinforcement
Relapse
- cues
negative reinforcement
Vicarious Reinforcement
(initiation)
observing a role model shopping and experiencing enjoyment triggers a desire for us to do the same
Celebrities + advertisements
(initiation)
Identification with celebrities triggers us to be like them and buy a product they have
- adverts suggest buying their products can bring us success, status etc
Positive reinforcement
(maintenance)
shopping becomes addictive because of its rewarding effects
- friends many shop together to gain status
- features of shopping positively reinforce
Adrenaline rush + rewards
(maintenance)
dopamine reward system motivates people to shop compulsively
- triggers a rewarding rush
Negative Reinforcement
(maintenance)
- people compulsively shop for relief from reality
- after shopping they feel emptiness that they want to avoid
Cue reactivity
(relapse)
the cues trigger the arousal that the shopper associates with their addiction and still crave
Shoppers are vulnerable to cues as they’re hard to avoid
Negative Reinforcement
(relapse)
- a recovering shopper experiences withdrawal symptoms that can be relieved by shopping
- as relief is only temporary, it becomes a never ending cycle
Evaluation
- strength
Gender differences
- women shop for clothes, men shop for tools + goods
- buying them attracts positive reinforcement from others
- operant conditioning plays a key role
Evaluation
- weakness
Cognitive factors
- study showed positive reinforcement isn’t enough to explain shopping addiction, other factors such as cognitive must be considered
Shopping
- Cognitive approach
Initiation
- relief from boredom
- psychological problems
Maintenance
- reduction of anxiety
- relief from boredom
Relapse
- withdrawal effects
- breakdown of coping startegies
Relief from boredom
- initiation
- easily accessible to relieve boredom
- anyone can look around shops or websites
- virtually free as anything can be returned
Psychological problems
- initiation
- relief from emotional distress and low self esteem can be associated with mental disorders
- this can arise from childhood trauma
Reduction of Anxiety
- maintenance
- a compulsive shopper experiences anxiety when they consider the consequences (financial)
- the anxiety is relieved by the shopper going out to shop again
= counter-productive
Relief from boredom
- maintenance
- shoppers continue to shop as they’re still bored or need anxiety relief
- once bought, anxiety comes back and they’re more anxious about hiding
- the anxiety can be relieved by shopping again
= destructive maintenance cycle
Withdrawal effects
- relapse
- a shopper who decides to quit will be vulnerable to feelings they were trying to relieve:
- distress
- boredom
- loneliness
- anxiety
Breakdown of coping strategies
- relapse
- the shopper must find a different way to deal with the underlying problems not the addiction
- the shopping is a coping strategy to deal with effects of childhood trauma
Evaluation
- strength
Link to mental disorders
- study showed most shoppers have anxiety and/or depression
- significant support for early trauma causing mental illness
Evaluation
- weakness
Biological factors
- study showed parents with mental disorders create a dysfunctional home causing childhood trauma
- children with depression + addiction from genetics
