Cognitive Approach Flashcards
Initiation
Expectancy plays an important role in the initiation of an addictive behaviour. The benefits of the activity are over estimated and people are more likely to become addicted if they have cognitive biases which minimise the negative consequence of the behaviour. Addicts often have high levels of impulsivity - placing a higher priority on present excitement rather than on future consequences.
Use addiction as a form of self medication
Maintenance
Addicts have cognitive biases which emphasise the positive aspects of the behaviour and minimise the negative consequences. Addicts associate discontinuing the addictive behaviour with negative consequences which means that continue. Addicts also have a high sense of self efficacy and believe they are in control
Relapse
When a person gives up addiction they should begin to experience increased self efficacy or mastery over their behaviour. High risk emotional states can pose a threat to the persons sense of control and lead to a relapse particularly if that believe that giving up has negative consequences.
Evaluation
Difficult to separate the effects of learning/ association from cognitive factors.
Convincing evidence from the biological approach suggests that people may have an underlying biological predisposition to developing an addiction.
Accessing people’s thought process is difficult.
The effectiveness of CBT in treating addictions shows that irrational thought processes are an important element of addiction. But it is not possible to say that they are the cause of addiction.
Best explanation is biopsychosocial model
Smoking - initiation
People who start smoking have expectancies that smoking will have positive effects on their lives such as stress reduction weight loss or improved mood. Cognitive biases that minimise negative effects of smoking.
Brandon and Baker carried out a questionnaire study of psychology students. There is evidence that people start smoking because they are bored and think that smoking will raise their mood - providing evidence for the importance for expectancy
Smoking - maintenance
Smoking behaviour is maintained because smokers have cognitive biases which emphasis the positive aspects of smoking and minimise the negative consequences.
Wills and Shiffman found that smokers consistently reported that they believed smoking helped them to cope with stress. However in reality smokers are more stressed than non smokers. An explanation of this is that for a smoker smoking a cigarette leads to an immediate reduction of stress but only because is relieves withdrawal symptoms. This leads the smokers to the perception that smoking decreases stress levels
Smoking - maintenance
The cognitive model suggests relapse can be minimised by understanding the persons beliefs about what are high risk situations enhancing the persons skills for coping with those situations increasing their self efficacy.
Tate et al found that expectations can be manipulated to prevent relapse. They told one group of smokers they should expect no negative experiences during a period of abstinence, the control group were given no information. The experimental group reported fewer withdrawal symptoms either physical or psychological than in a control group
Gambling - initiation
Expectancy is important because gamblers emphasis the perceived positive effects of gambling.
Griffiths found that young problem slot machine gamblers differed from non problem gamblers in having a greater belief in the role of skill in slot machine gambling and in giving overestimates of the amounts of money they were likely to win
Gambling - maintenance
Becks vicious circle of addiction - the cognitive model proposes that people expect that gambling will
Improve their mood. However losing money further lowers mood. The addicted gambler believes that the only way to raise their mood is to keep gambling. Irrational cognitive biases maintain gambling - gamblers over estimate the extent to which they can influence gambling outcomes and misjudge how much money they have won or lost.
Griffiths demonstrated that regular gamblers compared to non gamblers shows a variety of cognitive biases justify their behaviour when playing slot machines. In particular they saw themselves as more skilful at playing than non gamblers made more irrational visualisations made more flexible attributions
Gambling - relapse
High risk emotional states situations or events can pose a threat to the persons sense of control and lead to relapse particularly if the person believes that giving up has negative consequences.
Cummings showed that 35% of all lapses had been preceded by negative mood, another 16% following an argument and another 20% following social pressure
