Summary
Summary Addiction - A Level Psychology
Complete guide for Addiction created by an A*/A grade student. Includes full evaluation.
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Explanations for Addiction Describing addiction
- Where someone compulsively uses a substance, or engages with a behaviour despite its
harmful consequences
- Characterised by the individual’s inability to stop using the substance/carrying out the
behaviour so much so it interferes with their ability to cope with everyday life and work
- They will build up a tolerance to the drug / behaviour – meaning more is required to feel
rewarding
- Unpleasant withdrawal symptoms when they stop taking the drug as there is physical
dependence on it.
Characteristics of addiction
Physical dependence
Term – when the individual needs to continue taking the drug to feel normal. Often seen with
heroin and nicotine. Often it is demonstrated by the presence of withdrawal symptoms if
someone stops taking the drug.
Nature – physical dependence can be demonstrated by the presence of unpleasant physical
symptoms – withdrawal symptoms if the person stops taking the drug.
Eventually the individual will continue to take the drug, just to avoid these physical
symptoms. Physical dependence is often accompanied by increased tolerance, where more
of the drug is required to get the desired effect
Psychological dependence
Term – occurs when a drug or behaviour becomes a central part of a person’s thoughts,
emotions and every day life – resulting in a strong urge to take the drug
Nature – psychological dependence can also arise for non-physical addictions e.g. gamblers
who are motivated by the thrill of winning money
A characteristic for both physical and psychological dependence is cravings. This is an
intense desire to repeat the feeling/experience associates with the drug. If someone tries to
cut down or stop taking the drug they will feel intense cravings. They may also feel anxious
and as if they cannot cope without the drug.
Tolerance
- When drugs are used for a long time people will no longer respond to the drug in the same
way, as they will need larger and larger doses to feel the same effects as before.
o The enzymes that break down the drug do this more efficiently (metabolic tolerance)
meaning less is available in the blood, so the drug has a weaker effect
o Prolonged use of the drug means the receptors come desensitised, reducing the response
to the normal dose of the drug
o Learned tolerance – the user feels reduced drug effect as they have learnt to function
normally when under the influence of a drug.
Withdrawal symptoms
,- If you stop taking a drug like heroin or nicotine that you are physically dependant on, the
withdrawal symptoms occur
- These include shaking, anxiety, insomnia, and loss of appetite
Nature
- They are the body’s way of reacting to the drugs’ absence
Acute: begins within a few hours of drug cessation, and gradually resolves a few weeks.
Physical cravings which are intense ad persistent
Post-acute: lasts for months or even years after drug cessation. Characterised by emotional
and physiological turmoil and the addicts brain slowly starts to rebalance itself.
Risk Factors
1. Genetic vulnerability
- Some people seem to be born with a genetic predisposition to substance abuse and other
unhealthy behaviour
Twin studies
- Slutske (2010) interviewed 2,899 pairs of twins who had a gambling addicitons
- Found MZ twins had a higher concordance rate (49%) than DZ twins (21%)
- Suggesting the more genetically similar a sibling was to their twin who was a pathological
gambler, the more likely the other sibling would be too
Dopamine receptor gene
- Research suggests that those who are vulnerable to drug addiction often have low levels of
dopamine, and are less likely to (have) active dopamine receptors in the reward centre of
their brain
- Means when a drug increases the amount of dopamine, these individuals are more
sensitive to the eurphoric high that is felt
- Research shown that alcoholics were more likely to possess the A1 variant dopamine
receptor gene associated with decreased dopamine availability compared to non-alcoholics.
A03
P – Gender differences in genetic explanation
E – Whilst studies of male alcoholics show a clear role for genetics, female studies are more
inconsistent. Only two or four adoption studies found a link between alcoholism in female
adoptees and their biological parents. Only two of five twin studies found a greater
concordance rate amongst female MZ twins than DZ twins
E – Suggests that genetic factors may be less important than the development of alcoholism
for females than males
P – Diathesis-stress model
E – This can explain why some people develop addictive behaviour, yet others with the
same environmental experiences do not. This is because some people have a more
, predisposed genetic vulnerability e.g. the A1 variant of the dopamine receptor gene has
been found to be associated with cocaine and nicotine dependence.
E – However, an environmental trigger is still required, and so the exact nature of the
addiction is determined by environmental factors
2. Stress
- People deal with stressful events differently and some use drugs to help them feel better or
help them forget stress
Self-medication model
- Suggests some people use pathological behaviour (alchohol, drugs, gambling) to ‘treat’
psychological symptoms they experience because of everyday stress in their lives
- Stress is one of the biggest predictors of relapse
Traumatic stress
- People who experience severe stress are much more vulnerable to addictions, as they try
and cope with stress
- Research on US soldiers returning from the Vietnam War showed half used opium or
heroin during duty and 20% showed signs of physical and psychological dependence.
A03
P – coping can lead to abstinence
E – People who develop effective coping strategies for stress should have a lesser need for
addictive behaviour. Research on 263 smokers who had completed a quitting programme
found there was a strong relationship between participant’s use of stress coping resources
(problem solving, self-confidence) and their ability to maintain abstinence once they had quit
E – Useful
P – the role of stress varies per addiction
E – Although it is well documented that stress is a significant predictor of relapse, the role of
stress in other forms of addiction is less convincing.
E – Arevalo (2008) interviewed 393 women from a substance abuse programme and found
no link between stress and alcohol addiction
3. Personality
- Research shows that certain personality traits do play a role in predicting substance abuse.
- Krueger (1998) suggests that sensation seeking and impulsivity are commonly associated
with addiction
o E.g. impulsivity in behaving without thinking and considering the risks
o Could contribute to pathological gambling and alcohol abuse
Addiction prone personality
- Barnes (2000) developed the APP scale which he suggests could predict if someone was
likely to become an addict
- E.g. personality was a heavy predictor of marijuana use
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