The cognitive approach to gambling and smoking

Question 1

what is an addiction?

Answer 1

a mental disorder whereby the individual loses their control over a particular behaviour.

Question 2

general

what are the 3 cognitive explanations of an addiction?

Answer 2

self-medication model
Expectancy theory
rational choice theory

Question 3

initiation of gambling is explained using which theory?

Answer 3

self medication theory

Question 4

Explain the initiation of gambling using the self medication theory-treat symptoms

Answer 4

individuals intentionally use forms of pathological behaviour to treat the symptoms from which they suffer. E.g pathological gambling to treat their symptoms.

Question 5

what are the 1 evaluation points for the initiation of gambling?not general

Answer 5

Research support

Question 6

gambling
initiation-self medication
evaluation
research support

Answer 6

pathological gamblers who gambled to escape the painful reality of life were more likely to have other substance dependencies. ‘self medicating’ gamblers were more likely to commit crimes to finance their gambling supporting the model.

Question 7

general
initiation-self medication
evaluation
publication bias

Answer 7

The focus on research in this theory has largely focused on positive research findings which constitutes as publication bias. Especially when the size of the studies are very small, replications are few and contradictory findings are frequent, meaning an unrepresentative view of this research is apparent.

Question 8

general
maintenance-self medication
stress relief as a reason for maintenance

Answer 8

Smokers mention stress relief as a reason why they smoke. However, smokers report higher levels of stress than non smokers and levels of stress decrease when they stop smoking. Each cigarette has an effect on stress because it relieves the withdrawal symptoms. These is an ongoing effect that increases stress though.

Question 9

general
relapse-self medication
people experience negative symptoms when they stop

Answer 9

when those negative symptoms are experienced, people believe they need the medication to go back to ‘normal’ or to help.

Question 10

general
maintenance-self medication
why do people become addicted when no major problem is to be overcome?

Answer 10

Sexually abused women are more likely to turn to drugs or alcohol to remove sexual inhibitions than non-abused women. However, this model cannot explain why people become addicted when no major problems are to be overcome.

Question 11

maintenance of gambling is explained using which theory?

Answer 11

rational choice theory

Question 12

general
maintenance-rational choice theory
addicts behave in a way that is likely to maximise the preferences they hold.

Answer 12

Gamblers however are an exception to this rule, rational choice theory would predict that gamblers should not continue their gambling behaviour particularly those who lose.

Question 13

general
maintenance-rational choice theory
Evaluation
what research supports the irrational thinking behind gamblers?

Answer 13

Researchers set out to discover whether regular gamblers thought and behaved differently. He compared gamblers in terms of their verbalisations as they played the fruit machine. Regular gamblers believed they were more skillful, tended to treat the machine as a person and saw their losses as ‘near wins’

Question 14

general
initiation-rational choice theory
utility

Answer 14

there has been an economic model of addiction proposed. This uses the concept of utility which is a measure of the satisfaction resulting from consumption. To calculate this, people weigh up the costs incurred against the benefits they are likely to receive. Addiction is experienced as an increase in consumption of goods.

Question 15

general
evaluation
maintenance-rational choice theory
can explain why some addicts can simply stop an addiction

Answer 15

the individual may reach a point in their life where it is so unpleasant that the idea of a life without the addiction is strong that they decide to stop. E.g an addicted smoker might see the costs e.g health or price of cigarettes as being too high and hence the costs outweigh the benefits.

Question 16

gambling
maintenance-rational choice theory
how do irrational beliefs lead to the maintenance of gambling?

Answer 16

Gamblers believe they have the ability to influence the outcomes of their gambling. They believe in ‘gamblers fallacy’ where random events e.g. coin toss and somehow influenced by recent events. They believe they can bend reality in a way that makes them win every time they gamble.

Question 17

gambling
evaluation
maintenance-rational choice theory
there is non-supporting research involving a gambling related cognition scale

Answer 17

One group of university students were trained in statistics where as the other group wasnt, it was found there was no difference in the 2 groups in reference to their susceptibility to irrational gambling cognition’s. Undermining the cognitive explanations for gambling.

Question 18

general
initiation-expectancy theory
this states than an individual develops an addiction because of the expectations they have about the costs and benefits of that activity

Answer 18

heavier drinkers have been associated with having a more positive expectation about the effects of alcohol compared to light drinkers. Drinking has been associated with expectations of higher cognitive and motor functioning, showing the higher benefits predicted.

Question 19

general
maintenance-expectancy theory
is the activity influenced by conscious or unconscious expectations?
Study to support this

Answer 19

unconscious expectations involving automatic processing. This would explain the loss of control many addicts experience in their behaviour. when telling smoking they should experience no negative experiences when abstaining, fewer reported negative experiences providing support.

Question 20

general

relapse-expectancy theory?

Answer 20

Unconscious expectations account for the loss of control addicts experience and also why many find it difficult to abstain.

Question 21

general
expectancy theory
evaluation
subjective evaluation of outcomes

Answer 21

The subjective evaluation of expected events may be an important determinant of drinking behaviour. The more favorable someone evaluated the impairment of drinking, the greater the overall alcohol use.

Question 22

general
expectancy theory
evaluation
gender differences in alcohol expectations

Answer 22

men tend to hold stronger expectations concerning the effects of alcohol. Men reported higher levels pf positive expectations such as tension reduction. However, other studies have found no gender differences in alcohol expectations. Meaning it may be down to individual differences-not gender

Question 23

gambling
relapse
recall bias and just world hypothesis

Answer 23

Pathological gamblers often suffer from recall bias where they remember and overestimate wins while forgetting about losses.
The just world hypothesis is where the individual believes they will be rewarded for their efforts and hence this gives them motivation for returning on subsequent occasions.

Question 24

gambling
relapse
evaluation
real world application-different treatments

Answer 24

Depending on their motivation for gambling, different approaches should be issued. For example, self medicating gamblers should focus on the underlying problem of their addiction.

Question 25

smoking

what theory is used to explain the initiation of smoking?

Answer 25

expectancy theory

Question 26

smoking
initiation-expectancy theory
why does a behaviour escalate into an addiction?

Answer 26

Because of the expectations than an individual has about the costs and benefits of that activity. Adolescent smokers report smoking when they are experiencing negative moods and with the expectation that smoking will decrease the intensity of the negative mood. Expectations of positive moods can also be a reason why adolescents begin to smoke

Question 27

smoking
initiation
evaluation
addiction or excess?

Answer 27

much of the research concerned with addiction looks at the excesses of a behaviour rather then addiction to it. It rarely considers loss of control which is what addiction entails. It is not clear what role expectancy plays in the development of this loss of control.

Question 28

smoking
maintenance
what theory is used to explain maintenance of smoking?

Answer 28

expectancy theory

Question 29

smoking
maintenance-expectancy theory
how is addiction maintained?

Answer 29

the activity is less influenced by conscious expectancies but more by unconscious involving automatic processing which explains the loss of control many addicts experience. When telling smokers they shouldn’t experience any negative effects during abstinence, few were reported supporting the theory.

Question 30

smoking
relapse
what theory is used to explain this?

Answer 30

Expectancy theory

Question 31

smoking
relapse
why are people more likely to relapse according to the expectancy theory?

Answer 31

Because they are assessing costs and benefits and if they think that smoking has a lot of benefits and hardly any costs then they are likely to relapse.

Question 32

smoking
relapse
evaluation
nicotine patch and relapse rates

Answer 32

Research has shown inconsistent findings with some showing nicotine patches did improve cessation rates and other not. The use of nicotine patches it has been found can increase cessation rated but only when combined with CBT which involves talking and discovering the root of the problem. Meaning more research needs to be done on which method if treatment is most effective.

Question 33

what is the cognitive approach?

Answer 33

it emphasises ways of thinking an interpreting events that lead to the development of addictive behaviour. It looks at the reasons behind engaging in behaviour.