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The Cognitive Model of Addiction

description/evaluation

BECK ET AL 2001

'THE VICIOUS CYCLE'

  • Low mood can be relieved by addictive behaviour
  • Addiction can lead to problems
  • These problems lead to low mood
  • The cycle begins again

Self-Efficacy Theory

Coping: self medication model

  • Bandura (1997): self-efficacy refers to a belief in ones self to organise and control any actions required to meet particular goals.
  • Self-efficacy plays an important part in whether or not a person will start to engage in addictive behaviour (INITIATION)
  • and whether they believe they can do anything about it once established (MAINTENANCE AND RELAPSE)
  • initiation: individuals intentionally use the addictive behaviour to cope with stress/ psychological problems
  • The particular addiction is not chosen at random but has been selected as it is perceived to help a particular problem
  • helps fulfill 3 major functions: mood regulation, performance management and distraction
  • maintenance and relapse: many smokers mention 'stress relief'' as a major reason why they persist with their habit

Cognitive Outline

Expectancy Theory

  • expectations about the outcomes of addictive behaviour are thought to contribute to their excessive use
  • addicts differ from non addicts in terms of their expectations about the positive versus negative effects of these behaviours
  • initiation: heavier drinkers have been shown to have more positive expectations about the effects of alcohol compared to light drinkers
  • maintenance and relapse: BRANDON 2004, as addiction develops, the activity is influenced less by conscious expectations and more by unconscious expectations
  • This explains the loss of control many addicts experience, and the difficulties they experience in abstaining

Rational Choice Theory

cognition is thinking

  • the cognitive model therefore emphasises the habitual ways of thinking and interpreting events which may lead to the initiation and maintenance of addictive behaviour
  • a person may come to rely on drugs or even gambling as a way of coping with life's problems
  • When these coping mechanisms are used excessively they may create more problems than they solve
  • BECKER AND MURPHY (1998): people who choose to engage in an activity as a result of weighing up the costs and benefits
  • The theory uses the concept of 'utility' which in economics is a measure of the relative satisfaction resulting from consumption of a particular good or service
  • To calculate the utility of a particular activity, individuals must weigh up the costs incurred against the benefits they are likely to receive
  • From this perspective, addiction is experienced as an increase in consumptions of 'goods' because individuals have made a rational choice concerning their current and future 'utility' of their drug taking, gambling or drinking
  • Maintenance and relapse: according to this theory, addicts are rational consumers who look ahead and behave in a way that is likely to maximise the preferences they hold
  • An exception to this rule appears to be gambling, as rational addiction theory would predict that gamblers, particularly those which lose, should not continue their gambling behaviour
  • The study by Griffiths (1994) offers an explanation for this based on the cognitive bias that distorts the reasoning of addictive gamblers

GRIFFITHS 1994

  • compared 30 regular gamblers with 30 non regular gamblers and measured their verbalisations as they played a fruit machine
  • regular gamblers believed they were more skilful than they actually were and were more likely to make irrational verbalisations during play as they tended to treat the machine like a person
  • they also explained away their loses by seeing 'near misses' as 'near wins'. Sometimes which justified their continuation = IRRATIONAL THINKING

Evaluation of cognitive model

Strengths:

  • cognitive explanations help explain individual differences

Weaknesses:

  • GRIFFITHS 1994 found that regular players seemed capable of gambling without attending to what they were doing
  • This suggests that cognitive process were not a major role in the maintenance of addictive behaviour
  • Publication bias: many studies have supported a link between positive expectations and drinking behaviour and other drug uses. However, studies which have failed to show a link may not have been published giving an unrepresentative view of the research area
  • May be limited to particular addictions
  • Have less effect in chemical addictions but more of pronounced effect in gambling
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