learning explanations of nicotine addiction

Question 1

positive reinforcement & initiation

Answer 1

if consequence of behaviour is rewarding to an individual (e.g. feeling of pleasure) then that behaviour is more likely to be repeated

nicotine is a powerful reinforcer due to its physiological effect on the dopamine reward system in the mesolimbic pathway

nicotine stimulates release of dopamine in the nucleus accumbens, producing a feeling of mild euphoria, which the smoker finds rewarding and so this positively reinforces the individual to smoke again

Question 2

negative reinforcement & maintenance

Answer 2

when an individual sustains from having a cig, withdrawal syndrome starts

this can include symptoms such as: disturbed sleeping patterns, agitation,

therefore, addiction is maintained as smoking another cig is negatively reinforcing as it stops an unpleasant stimulus (withdrawal symptoms)

Question 3

cue reactivity

Answer 3

smoking is a primary reinforcer as it is rewarding on its own

any other stimuli present becomes associated with pleasurable effect of smoking, meaning they have been classically conditioned together - secondary reinforcers

refers to associations being made between cues in env and smoking
- marked by both self-reporting desire to smoke and physiological changes in reactivity to a cue (e.g. increased HR)

if an individual enters and env or is faced with object they have associated nicotine use with, they are more vulnerable to relapse due to craving its rewarding effects

Question 4

strength 1

Answer 4

supporting research evidence

Carter and Tiffany’s (1999)

used a meta-analysis which included measures of self-reporting craving & physiological arousal in smoking addicts and non-addicts, following exposure of smoking-related cues (e.g. lighters)

found addicts reacted more strongly to cues (e.g. reporting high levels of craving and demonstrating higher levels of physiological arousal) compared to non-addicts

shows cue reactivity does lead to an individual craving a cig which plays a vital part in maintenance

Question 5

strength 2

Answer 5

real life applications

which is when the principles of a theory can be used in real life

aversion theory works on basis of counter-conditioning nicotine addiction by associating smoking with aversive stimulus e.g. electric shock

smith (1988) found 52% that received electric shocks when smoking abstained after a year

suggests that effective applications of learning theory have measurable and significant practical benefits in terms of reducing NHS spending and improving health

Question 6

limit 1

Answer 6

beta biased

which is when a theory unfairly minimises differences between genders

e.g. Carpenter (2014) suggests women are less successful at quitting smoking than men due to greater sensitivity to smoking-related cues and lowered confidence in ability to give up smoking, which undermines attempts to do so

however, learning theory suggests cue-reactivity to be same across both genders, weakening its useful it explaining nicotine addiction universally

Question 7

limit 2

Answer 7

environmental determinist

which is when a theory inappropriately explains human behaviour at a basic env level

even though positive reinforcement is a strong explanation for why some individuals continue to smoke, many adolescents smoke cigarettes occasionally, but few are dependent to extent that they experience withdrawal symptoms

suggests there have to be causations, other than reinforcement history, which influences smoking turning into addiction, weakening usefulness of learning theory