Evaluation: Personality

Question 1

Difficulty establishing cause and effect

Answer 1

Research into the relationship between addiction and personality is that is is mainly correlational. The personality tests are usually given once the individual has already developed the addiction, and therefore cause and effect cannot be established.

Question 2

Ruth McNamara et al. (2010)

Answer 2

found that in rats, impulsivity meant that the animals were more likely to self-administer cocaine but not heroin. Therefore the type of personality involved might depend on the specific addictive behaviour being investigated.

Question 3

The myth of the addictive personality

Answer 3

There are numerous traits that have been linked to addiction, and this makes it very difficult to reach a definitive conclusion about what is meant by an addictive personality.

Question 4

John kerr (1996)

Answer 4

Refers to the idea of an addictive personality as one of the myths of addiction. Suggests there are so many traits that these would be typical of most individuals to some degree. Therefor it may not be appropriate to refer to an addictive personality as if it were a simple set of traits.

Question 5

The link to biological processes

Answer 5

Using personality as an explanation for addiction may not be sufficient as many of the personality characteristics we have seen linked to addictions show a clear relationship to dopamine functioning.

Question 6

Joshua Buckholtz et al. (2010)

Answer 6

Looked at levels of impulsivity in non-addicted individuals and then recorded what happened in their brains when given amphetamines. Those with higher impulsivity showed a greater dopamine release in response to the drug. Therefore impulsive people may be more likely to become addicted because they get a greater dopamine high.