Explanations for nicotine addiction: Learning Theory AD

Question 1

learning theory

Answer 1

a behaviourist explanation based on the mechanisms of classical and operant conditioning such as positive and negative reinforcement

Question 2

cue reactivity

Answer 2

cravings and arousal can be triggered in, for instance, nicotine addicts when they encounter cues related to the pleasurable effects of smoking. Examples of such cues include the social situations in which they have smoked previously.

Question 3

Positive reinforcement →

Answer 3

Nicotine is a powerful reinforcer as a result of the physiological effects on the dopamine reward system of the mesolimbic pathway. Smokers find the mild euphoria feeling rewarding which positively reinforces the smoking behaviour.

Question 4

Koob and Le Moal

Answer 4

argue that positive reinforcement can therefore explain the early stages of addiction.

Question 5

Negative reinforcement

Answer 5

Stopping taking nicotine lends to an acute withdrawal syndrome. This leads to severe symptoms such as behavioural (agitation and disturbed sleep), cognitive (poor concentration) and mood disturbances (anxiety and depression). These make it hard for a smoker to abstain for long so they give into a cigarette to stop the unpleasantness. So smoking gets negatively reinforced because it stops an unpleasant stimulus.

Question 6

What causes things to become cues?

Answer 6

classical conditioning

Question 7

Why is the pleasurable effect of smoking is the primary reinforcer?

Answer 7

it is intrinsically rewarding due to its effects on the brain’s dopamine reward system, leading to an individual being more likely to smoke again.

Question 8

Secondary reinforcers

Answer 8

(opening a lighter etc) are any other stimuli that become associated with the pleasurable effect.

Question 9

Cue reactivity has 3 main components:

Answer 9

• Subjective desire or craving for a cigarette, which is self reported
• Physiological signs of reactivity, including autonomic responses such as heart rate and skin temp
• Objective behavioural indicators such as how many ‘draws’ are taken on a cigarette and how strongly

Question 10

Social learning theory

Answer 10

can also impact addiction in terms of the mediational processes, role models and vicarious reinforcement.

Question 11

Research support -
Support from animal studies

strength

Answer 11

• Levin et al rats could lick two water spouts
• Licking one of them triggered an intravenous dose of nicotine but licking the other one had no reward
• The rats licked the nicotine linked waterspout significantly more often
• The number of licks also increased substantially over 24 sessions
  The effects of nicotine positively reinforce self-administration in rats, implying there is a similar mechanism in humans

Question 12

Support for cue reactivity -
Support from research with humans on the effects of cues

strength

Answer 12

• Carter and Tiffany 1999 conducted a meta-analysis of 411 studies
• The studies presented dependant and non-dependant smokers with images of smoking related cues
• Self reported desire was measured along with indicators of physical arousal
• Dependant smokers reacted most strongly to the cues
  This shows that dependent smokers learn secondary associations between smoking-related stimuli and pleasurable effects of smoking.

Question 13

RWA -
Nicotine treatment programs based on classical conditioning principles

strength

Answer 13

• Aversion therapy and counterconditioning to treat nicotine addiction by association previous pleasurable effects with painful shocks
• Smith’s participants gave themselves adverse electric shocks whenever they engaged in smoking-related behaviours
• After one year 52% of people decided to give up smoking
  Treatment based on learning theory can save NHS resources, improve health

Question 14

Counterpoint for RWA

limitation

Answer 14

• This study did not use a control group
• The comparison is not a valid measure of effectiveness
• Many other treatments could claim to be more beneficial
• Evidence from higher-quality studies that the benefits of aversion therapy are relatively short lived
  Counterconditioning may not be an effective method of affliction treatment.

Question 15

Further evidence for cue reactivity

Answer 15

• Calvert
• Brain scans found strong activation in the ventral striatum and nucleus accumbens when smokers were shown a cigarette packet
  Demonstrates the physiological signs indicated in cue reactivity.