Personality Evaluation

Question 1

Difficulty establishing cause and effect (weekness/ strength)dong makes its a strength due to prospective studies like dong et al

Answer 1

P- one weeekness is that it’s difficult to establish cause and effect
E- personality tests are done after someone has developed an addiction, meaning we cannot tell is their personality traits caused the addiction or if the addiction cause the changes in their personality.
E- for example addiction might make a person more stress ed or impulsive, rather than stress or impulsivity leading to addiction
E-HOWEVER-Dong et al supports the idea that personality traits can cause addiction.
Chinese uni students and found they had higher Neuroticism (N) and Psychoticsism (P) scores predicted internet addiction @ years later. This suggests personality traits are a cause not just and effect

Question 2

Role of personality depends on the addictive behaviour (weekness)

Answer 2

E-McNamara et al showed impulsivity made rats more likely to self administer cocaine, but not heroine
Rozin & Stoess found no common personality pattern across different addictions in humans
E- suggests that certain personality trains may only predict some addictions ,not all, making it difficult to generalise
This is a weakness because personality traits may not explain all form of addictions

Question 3

The myth of addictive personality

Answer 3

P- The idea of an “addictive personality” may be oversimplified or even a myth
E-Kerr argued too many traits have been linked to addictions, meaning nearly anyone could be said to have an “addictive personality” to some extent
E-since traits high in Neuroticism and Psychoticism are also found in non addicts EG criminals, its hard too say these traits are specific to addiction
E-Kerr also refers to “myths of addiction” suggesting that the idea of a single addictive personality is too broad and general to be meaningful

This is a weakness because concept of an addictive personality may not be useful or accurate

Question 4

Link to biological processes

Answer 4

P- personality traits like impulsivity are linked to biological processes that influence addiction
E- Buckholtz found impulsive indivaiuals had a greater dopamine release in response to amphetamines and were less sensitive to dopamine, which could make them more prone to addiction
E- Suggests that impulsive people are more likely to become addicted because the brain rewards them more intensely when taking drugs

This is a strength because it shows a clear connection between personality (impulsivity) and biological mechanisms (dopamine functioning) which supports the idea that personality traits can increase addiction risk through brain processes.