Transcript Research Week 1

Human Motivation
Chapter 7
Drug Use and Drug Addiction
Evolutionary Considerations
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Reward pathway system
= dopaminergic system
= dopamine system
= pleasure-seeking system
gives rise to feelings of euphoria (high, buzz, rush)
Not just a pleasure system, but is important for learning
wide range of survival behaviors.
Provides pleasure when we eat and do all things that
are adaptive.
Basic Terms and Concepts
Drug addiction: state of periodic or chronic intoxication
produced by repeated consumption of a drug
Substance abuse: the tendency to use a substance to
excess; any tendency to use substances indiscriminately
without regard for our need to function as members of
society.
Psychoactive drug: affects mood, consciousness, or both;
alters psychological functioning.
Dependency: drug that produces addiction has altered
normal body functions to such a degree that further
doses of the drug are required to maintain a state of
normal well-being; physiological.
Basic Terms and Concepts
Tolerance: need to use increasing amounts of a particular
drug to obtain the same psychological effects.
Withdrawal: the physiological and psychological symptoms
that follow the cessation of drug use and intake; people
continue to use drugs to avoid the negative symptoms.
Craving: strong desire to ingest a drug or drugs and the
preoccupation with obtaining and ingesting a drug or
drugs.
Preoccupation: the narrowing or focusing of attention and
thought about how to obtain a drug or drugs and the
pleasure that ingesting a drug or drugs will bring.
Why People Become Addicted
People are more likely to become addicted or
use drugs/drink alcohol if they are trying to
escape a noxious or aversive mood state
(anxiety or depression), than if they are using
drugs/drinking alcohol to enhance an already
positive mood (seeking excitement)
Avoidant motivation is more compelling than
is approach motivation.
Avoidant motivation often signals a threat to
our survival.
The Initial Motivation to Use Drugs
Biological Component:
Mood temperament: anxious or neurotic
people are more likely to use drugs.
Activity temperament: hyperactive children
are more likely to use drugs than are normal
children; impulsivity has been linked to drug
use.
Novelty-seeking temperament: need for
varied, novel and complex sensations and
experiences increases likelihood of drug use.
The Initial Motivation to Use Drugs
The Learned Component:
Learned pattern of coping plays important role
in drug use; those with less family support are
more at risk.
The Cognitive Component:
Drug abuse tends to be linked to lack of selfcontrol.
Why Drugs are Addictive
Dopamine system: (Dopamine) Produces
periods of euphoria (heroin, cocaine,
marijuana, alcohol, nicotine).
Produced by either increasing concentration of
dopamine or blockage of re-uptakers.
Opioid system: (Endorphins) Kills pain, alters
mood, removes stress symptoms (heroin,
morphine).
Norepinephrine: Produces feelings of
efficiency (cocaine, amphetamines).
Heroin and Morphine
The Biological Component:
Produces euphoria and suppresses pain.
The Learned Component:
If a drug produces reinforcing effects in the presences
of certain stimuli, those stimuli will become associated
with internal state the drugs provide.
Addicts may learn to use in order to reduce discomforts
of withdrawal.
The Cognitive Component:
Addicts must learn new ways to manage emotions and
fulfill their needs; most likely to give up addiction when
make clear decision to.
Stimulants:
Cocaine and Amphetamines
The Biological Component:
Produce feelings to euphoria, reduce feelings
of fatigue, increase feelings of efficiency.
The Learned Component:
Evidence suggests dopaminergic activity can
be conditioned.
The Cognitive Component:
The feelings and thoughts drug users
experience are a large result of their
expectations
The Hallucinogenics:
Cannabis and LSD
The Biological Component:
Stimulant or euphoric properties; distort
perceptions of time and space. LSD also
distorts sense modalities.
The Learned Component:
Dependency or craving does not appear to be
major problem.
The Cognitive Component:
Ability to alter perception. Cannabis impairs
motor and cognitive functions, as well.
Nicotine
The Biological Component:
Activates dopamine/opioid overproduction systems;
ability to arouse (small doses) and relax (larger doses).
The Learned Component:
Appears to be largely cued by the environment; heavy
smokers cued more by internal factors, light smoker by
external factors.
The Cognitive Component:
People need to become aware of their cues and habits
in order to control their smoking.
Alcohol
The Biological Component:
Stimulates dopaminergic and endorphin systems
Low doses- stimulates the CNS;
Moderate doses- depresses brain activity (disinhibition effect)
Large doses- affects the cerebellum (motor impairment);
temporarily increases blood glucose, decreases formation of
glucose in liver, and accelerates deposition of fat in the liver;
this gives rise to cirrhosis
Link between alcohol abuse and depression.
Depressant action of alcohol on the cortex produces state
of disinhibition.
Alcohol
The Learned Component:
Tendency to develop a drinking problem can be
predicted by the amount that our companions drink
and the extent to which our life revolves around
drinking.
People from dysfunctional families have great
tendency towards addiction.
Cultural and societal beliefs have influence over
abuse.
Basic aim of treating alcoholism is to teach addicts to
restrict their drinking in certain situations.
Alcohol
The Cognitive Component:
Expectations play an important role in the effects
people experience with alcohol.
Alcohol causes myopia- short-sighted information
processing where people ignore certain information
that would normally inhibit their behavior.
Cultural beliefs regarding the effects of drugs and
alcohol are reflected in the differences in the effects.
Disease model of alcoholism links loss of control
directly to the disease of alcoholism, not to cognitive
variables.
Drug Use Factors
Factors influencing drug use include:
Commitment to other activities
Social class
Peer and parental influences
Culture and ethnicity
A respect for the value of moderation
The need to achieve
The fear of failure
The degree of alienation from society
Quitting Addictions
When people quit on their own, they are more likely to
succeed. Factors linked to self-quitting:
1. Readiness to change.
2. Belief that one can quit.
3. Developing self-efficacy.
4. Learning how to interpret failure.
5. Changing existing self-views.
6. Valuing health.
7. Developing interests in new activities or coming to
value activities.
8. Maturing out.