Behavior Disorders Exam 2

OCD, MDD, SUD

OCD

is the next topic

Obsessions

Intrusive and recurring thoughts, impulses, and images that are irrational and appear uncontrollable to the individual

Compulsions

Is a repetitive behavior or mental act that the person feels driven to perform in order to reduce the distress caused by obsessive thoughts

• The activity is not realistically connected with its apparent purpose or is clearly excessive

General categories of obsessions

Contamination

Responsibility for harm

Incompleteness (e.g. symmetry exactness)

Unacceptable thoughts of immoral, sexual, or violent content

Commonly reported compulsions

Decontamination

checking

repeating routine activities (going through a doorway 7 times)

ordering/arranging

mental rituals (e.g. praying)

hoarding

Previously a subtype of OCD

•Thoughts are not intrusive or unwanted, can be neutral or positive

Hard to conceptualize excessive saving as compulsive or ritualistic

• i.e., does not seem to result in an escape from (or neutralization of) obsessional anxiety

OCD subtype

•Poor insight and overvalued ideation:

•Individuals who view their obsessional fears and compulsive behavior as reasonable

•More strongly associated with religious obsessions, fears of mistakes, and aggressive obsessional impulses

serotonin hypothesis

OCD arises from abnormalities in the serotonin neurotransmitter system

• Medications that increase brain levels of serotonin are effective in reducing OCD symptoms

this is a correlation not a proven causation

Structural abnormalities

Connects regions of the brain that play roles in information processing

and behavioral responses

• Examination of glucose utilization in OCD and non-OCD brains

biological models evaluation

No explanation as to why serotonin or structural abnormalities cause OC behaviors

• Unable to explain themes and content in OC behaviors

Learning models of OCD

is the next topic

two factor theory

Stimulus that poses no objective threat comes to evoke obsessional fear (*CC)

• Avoidance behaviors develop as a means of reducing anxiety (OC)

• Superstitious conditioning

*Little evidence that classical conditioning can account for onset of fear

-Verbal transmission and modeling may account for development

Cognitive-Behavioral Model

Unpleasant mental intrusions are a normal and universal experience

•Cognition in OCD individuals:

• Cannot tolerate or dismiss mental intrusions:

• Appraise the mental intrusion as posing a threat

• Believe specific thoughts are indicative of abnormality

• Attempt to inhibit thoughts have paradoxical effects

• E.g., white bear phenomenon

•Behavioral component:

• Compulsive behaviors persist because they are immediately reinforced by reducing anxiety

psychodynamic model

OC behaviors represent unconscious conflicts between the id and the superego

• Accounts for general themes in obsessive thoughts

• e.g., contamination, sex, aggression

• Aligns with general organization of the brain

DEPRESSION

is the next chapter

The depression epidemic

Single most common form of psychopathology

❧ Affects approximately 33 million American at some point in

their life

❧ For those >13yo, lifetime prevalence is about 30% and 8.6% for 12-month prevalence

❧ Rates of depressive symptoms inclined across the board during COVID-19

❧ Prevalence rate of depression appears to be increasing while the age of onset for first episode decreasing

Gender differences in depression

Women are twice as likely, on average, to develop depression

❧ Across nations and diagnostic systems

❧ The rates of depression in girls and boys do not differ until about age 13, whereat:

❧ Girls rates increase sharply and are twice those for men by late adolescents

❧ Lower age at onset predicts a worse course of the disorder only for females (

❧ Boys rates remain low and may even decrease.

Themes accounting for gender difference in depression

Socioeconomic Status:

❧ Meta-analyses indicate that lower levels of educational

attainment associate with depression, as does economic

inequality more generally

Because women have less power and status than men in societies, they are:

❧ More likely to experience more chronic strains:

❧ Poverty, harassment, constrained choices, etc.

❧ More likely to experience “interpersonal” traumas (e.g., sexual abuse; and highly adverse circumstances.

Gender differences in biological responses to stress:

❧ Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis:

❧ Regulates stress responses

❧ It is hypothesized that women are more likely to have a dysregulated HPA

Comorbidity

Depression is a common comorbid problem with both physical ailments and behavior disorders

Transgenerational: [m]aternal depression was significantly related to higher levels of internalizing, externalizing, and general psychopathology and negative affect/behavior and to lower levels of positive affect/behavior” in children.

other risk factors (especially for women)

Divorce

Single-parent status - stress, and social support - single mothers are subjecto to chronic stress, lower levels of social support/involvement, and stress and social support account for almost 40 % of the relationship between single-parent status and depression

Symptoms of Depression

❧ Depressed mood (feel sad/empty) or irritability

❧ Anhedonia

❧ At least 5 of the following 7 symptoms (present nearly every day:

❧ Significant weight change (5%) or change in appetite

❧ Can be weight gain or loss

❧ Change in sleep

❧ Can be insomnia or hypersomnia

❧ Fatigue/loss of energy

❧ Feelings of worthlessness/excessive guilt

❧ Concentration difficulties/indecisiveness

❧ Psychomotor agitation or retardation

❧ Suicidality

examples of depression as an adaption in nature

pacific sleeper shark - goes between vegetative states to conserve and withdrawal energy

patch behavior (deer) - As food in a patch becomes depleted, organisms give up on a patch if the rate of return is lower than the return in other patches.

depression an adaptation as a theory

is the next topic

Nesse (2000)

❧ There are benefits to regulating investment strategies as a function of changes in anticipated levels of payoffs

❧ In certain situations, down regulation of effort and risk taking is an advantage

Wender & Klien (1982, p. 204):

“biologically based self-esteem – and mood in general – seems to us to have evolutionary utility...If one is subject to a series of defeats, it pays to adopt a conservative game plan of sitting back and waiting and letting others take the risks. Such waiting would be fostered by a pessimistic outlook.”

Incentive-disengagement theory

❧ The role of depression was to disengage motivation for an unreachable goal

Control Theory:

Low mood prompts the consideration of alternative strategies

❧ E.g., low mood elicited by a mismatch between achievements and expectations.

Behavioral model

❧ Low rates of response contingent reinforcement (RCPR)

❧ For aversive stimuli:

❧ Responses aimed at reducing aversive stimuli are not negatively reinforced

❧ For appetitive stimuli:

❧ Responses aimed at procuring rewards are not positively reinforced (may also be punished)

❧ Ultimately, behavior that is not reinforced (or is punished) will extinguish

Depression as a disorder

is the next topic

Lewinsohn’s (integrative) model

Decrease in rewards (or increase in costs) in the environment lead to lower response-contingent reinforcement, which increase depressive symptoms

❧ Person does not engage in activities that provide reinforcement

❧ The environment does not provide opportunities for reinforcement

❧ Inability to access available rewards (skills deficits)

❧ Environmental changes (e.g., loss)

if response depression is adaptive, why is depression a disorder?

avoidance behaviors

avoidance behaviors

Response depression can create a self-perpetuating feedback loop:

❧ Behavioral repertoire becomes more inhibited/narrow to avoid further negative outcomes, which is maintained through negative reinforcement (e.g., avoidance/escape)

❧ Depressed behavior serves an avoidance function aimed at alleviating negative affect:

❧ Excessive drinking, eating, sleeping, etc.

❧ Social withdrawal

❧ Although avoidance behaviors provide immediate relief, they exacerbate depression in the long-run

response depression as a self-perpetuating feedback loop

Responses tied to depression (e.g., pessimism) can cause impairments that yield additional aversive experiences (or preclude positive ones) that lead to further response depression.

cognition change

cognition changes to be depressogenic, particularly with respect to attributions

Attributions: ❧ Ascribing causal influences for some event

❧ In depression, attributions become:

❧ Specific, unstable, and external attributions for positive events

❧ Global, stable, and internal attributions for negative events

Self-schema of the depressed patient (also deals with cognition changes)

Cognitive Triad

1. Negative beliefs about self

2. circumstances

3. self

-underlie the content of automatic thoughts

automatic thoughts (cognition change)

Automatic, internal verbal statements about life experiences

❧ Automatic thoughts using depressed vs. non-depressed cognitive triad:

❧ “Tom passed by without saying hello; I guess he’s really busy today”

❧ “Tom didn’t acknowledge me because he doesn’t like me – nobody does and nobody will.”

response depression can create a self perpetuating feedback loop through:

schema confirmation

❧ Individuals develop the expectation that desired outcomes are unlikely to occur or that aversive outcomes are likely to occur and that no behavioral response will alter this likelihood.

❧ This view has consequences on behavior and information processing that exacerbate depression

another gender difference

❧ Psychological differences:

❧ Women are more likely to focus inward when feeling of distressed (e.g., rumination), whereas men are more likely to be action oriented.

Lewinsohn’s integrative model (continued

❧ Depressed mood creates cognitive vulnerabilities (e.g., pessimism) and behavioral consequences (e.g., social withdrawal)

❧ Information processing shifts to become more negative:

❧ Negative information more accessible and efficiently processed

❧ Change toward more negative self-schema

Social impairments in depression

❧ Coyne’s (1987) Model:

❧ Similar to Lewinsohn’s model but more focused on how the social environment responds to the depressed individual.

❧ An initial event or situation elicits depressive symptoms and support-and reassurance-seeking.

❧ An initially positive social response over time becomes hostile ore resentful to the continued support- and reassurance-seeking.

❧ Individuals either find excuses to create social distance with the depressed person or provide only insincere support or reassurance

❧ The depressed person may accurately interpret these as rejection or platitudes and in any case feel socially isolated, furthering depression

Suicide

❧ Suicidal ideation (i.e., thoughts) are not uncommon in depression, but do not necessarily translate into an attempt

❧ “[M]ost models recognize that suicide risk is a result of the interplay between predisposing (also known as distal or diathesis) and precipitating (also known as proximal, triggering or stress) factors, with some models also specifying a role for developmental factors.”

Depression in Men

❧ The suicide paradox:

❧ Although men report depression at lower rates than women, they die by suicide at much higher rates

❧ Possibly due to differences in coping styles and help-seeking behaviors

❧ Traditional masculine norms discourage emotional expression, leading men to underreport

❧ "Masked depression" hypothesis:

❧ Depression in men may be "masked" by somatic complaints, workaholism, or antisocial behavior (Rice et al., 2017).

❧ Men may express psychological distress through externalizing behaviors (e.g., aggression, risk-taking) rather than through sadness

other demographics

❧ Transgender and nonbinary individuals report higher rates of depression than their cisgender counterparts, likely due to discrimination and stigma

❧ Especially among those who cannot access gender-affirming care

❧ LGBTQ+

❧ Family rejection significantly increases depression risk among LGBTQ youth, whereas family acceptance acts as a protective factor

ADDICTION

is the next chapter

addictive behavior

◦ Any compulsive habit in which individual seeks a state of immediate gratification despite longer-term costs associated with the habit

◦ Introduction of pleasure of euphoria

◦ In relief from discomfort:

◦ Tension/Negative mood

◦ Withdrawal effects

addictive behaviors encompass:

◦ Excessive use of psychoactive substances

◦ E.g., CNS Depressants: Alcohol, depressant drugs (e.g., Valium)

◦ E.g., Stimulants: Cocaine, amphetamines (e.g., speed), tobacco

◦ E.g., Opiates: Morphine, heroin

◦ E.g., Psychedelics: LSD (aka, acid), psilocybin (aka, mushrooms

unhealthy behavior with compulsive characteristics

◦ Gambling

◦ Eating

◦ Sexual behaviors

◦ Video games

Substance Use Disorders

–A maladaptive patterns of use leading to significant impairment or distress, as manifested by 2 or more of the following over a 12-month period:

◦ Substance taken in larger amounts or for a longer period that intended

◦ Inability to cut down or control use

◦ Time and resources spent in obtaining, using, or recovering from substance use

◦ Cravings

◦ Failure to fulfill major role obligations

◦ Social, occupational, or recreational activities reduced because of addition

◦ Recurrent substance in situations in which it is physically hazardous

◦ Continued use despite having persistent or recurrent social/interpersonal problems

caused or exacerbated by the effects of the substance

Biological models of addiction

is the next topic

genetic risk

◦ Predisposition to find effects of psychoactive substances reinforcing

i.e. some monkeys found alcohol at a resort more reinforcing

another model (personality)

◦ Predisposition for behavioral control problems (i.e., impulsive

personalities):

◦ Greater orientation to pleasure-seeking in present

◦ Ignored potential consequences and risks of behavior

◦ Foreshortened orientation for the future

critical aspect underlying all forms of addictive behavior

the inability to regulate some behavior despite consequent problems resulting from the behavior.

◦ The immediate consequences tend to be pleasurable:

◦ i.e., positively or negatively reinforced

◦ Even large future consequences cease to regulate behavior

temporal discounting

Used as a model of addictive behaviors:

◦ e.g., Individuals may elect the short-term gratification associated with substance use over the long-term benefits of sobriety

◦ Individuals with addiction problems do “discount” rewards at a greater rate.

◦ Model has been extended to include other factors relevant to the decision to engage in an addictive behavior

◦ e.g., Discounting costs

behavioral models

Operant Conditioning:

◦ Rewarding effects following behavior will increase the chance that the behavior will occur again

◦ Substance use: Pharmacological, social, and environment factors produce rewards following self- administration

Classical Conditioning:

◦ Drug-induced euphoria becomes associated with stimuli present during euphoric state:

◦ Drug taking paraphernalia

◦ Locations

◦ Behaviors

◦ People

Opponent process theory

is the next topic

opponent-processing

–Any effects of substance on CNS are automatically opposed by CNS

mechanisms that reduce intensity of effects

◦ Function is to maintain or restore biological homeostasis

Two opposing processes

◦ Process “A”:

– Effects of the substance

◦ Process “B”:

– Opponent biological response

Properties of Process A and B:

–Latency to response:

◦ The time it take for process initiation

–Augmentation time:

◦ The increasing intensity of effects of process over time

–Decay function:

◦ The decreasing intensity of effects of process over time

Subjective Experience:

–Experience_t = [A - B]

amphetamines as an example

– Process A: euphoria, hypervigilance, sociability

– Process B: depression, hypersomnia, irritability

Withdrawal

Withdrawal Effects:

◦ Process B lasts longer than Process A

◦ Process B is aversive

Withdrawal and Addiction:

◦ Reinitiation of Process A is effective in removing aversive effects of State B

◦ User learns to employ drug to remove Process B (operant conditioning)

Tolerance

– Body’s compensatory response (Process B) is strengthened through use,

weakened through disuse

– More of substance is required to produce desired effects of Process A

◦ Process A effects remain relatively stable over time

Cravings

◦ Body learns cues related to substance intake (classical conditioning)

◦ Process B initiated when cue is present

◦ Process B produces withdrawal effects prior to substance intake (craving)

◦ User initiates Process A to reduce craving (Process B)

Expectancy theory

• THE ULTIMATE FOCUS IS ON WHAT MOTIVATES PEOPLE TO DRINK ALCOHOL MORE SO THAN OTHERS

• IF PEOPLE EXPECT ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION TO LEAD TO POSITIVE OUTCOMES, THEY WILL BE MORE INCLINED TO DRINK:

• E.G., “I EXPECT TO BE THE LIFE OF THE PARTY IF I FIRST HAVE A FEW DRINKS”

• IF PEOPLE EXPECT ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION TO LEAD TO NEGATIVE OUTCOMES, THEY WILL BE LESS INCLINED TO DRINK:

• E.G., “I EXPECT TO HAVE A HANGOVER IF I HAVE A FEW DRINKS”

• THESE EXPECTATIONS ABOUT THE OUTCOMES OF ALCOHOL USE DEVELOP OVER TIME AND REPRESENT A FINAL COMMON PATHWAY FOR VARIOUS INFLUENCES:

• E.G., DIRECT AND INDIRECT EXPERIENCES WITH ALCOHOL

• E.G., PEER AND CULTURAL INFLUENCES

• E.G., GENETIC FACTORS

Tension-reduction theory:

• ALSO A MODEL USED TO ACCOUNT FOR PEOPLE’S MOTIVATION TO DRINK

• BASED ON THE INTUITIVE NOTION THAT INDIVIDUALS DRINK ALCOHOL TO REDUCE TENSION, BUT HAS RECEIVED ONLY MODERATE EMPIRICAL SUPPORT:

• GREELEY & OEI (1999): “THE GENERAL CONSENSUS HAS BEEN THAT ALCOHOL, AT CERTAIN DOSAGES, IS CAPABLE OF REDUCING SOME SIGNS OF TENSION IN SOME HUMANS, UNDER CERTAIN CONTEXTUAL CONDITIONS” (P. 23).

• MORE RECENT WORK HAS FOCUSED ON THE TENSION-REDUCING PROPERTIES OF ALCOHOL AT THE BIOLOGICAL LEVEL, WHICH FURTHER SUPPORTS THE ROLE OF OTHER MODERATING VARIABLES:

• E.G., GENETIC PREDISPOSITION FOR THE STRESS-ALLEVIATING EFFECTS OF ALCOHOL

Moderators

refer to any factor that may change the nature of a relationship between two other variables. For instance, we might find that the effect of alcohol on observable symptoms of intoxication is moderated by weight (i.e., greater body weight on average will decrease the strength of the effect of alcohol on intoxication).

Mediators

any factor that explains the relationship between two other variables. For instance, impulsivity may explain the link between male gender and greater risk of an alcohol use disorder. Specifically, male gender associates with a higher risk of alcohol problems, but this is because male gender associates with greater impulsivity, and greater impulsivity associates with greater likelihood of an alcohol use disorder.

Social learning theory (SLT)

• INCORPORATES ASPECTS OF OTHER EXPLANATORY MODELS:

• E.G., SITUATIONAL FACTORS CAN FUNCTION AS “TRIGGERS” THROUGH ASSOCIATIVE LEARNING

• E.G., BELIEFS ABOUT ALCOHOL USE (I.E., ALCOHOL EXPECTANCIES)

• SLT DOES MORE UNIQUELY EMPHASIZE:

• COPING SKILLS:

• THE PATIENT’S ABILITY TO COPE WITH STRESSFUL EVETS WITHOUT REVERTING TO THE USE OF ALCOHOL

• ABSTINENCE SELF-EFFICACY:

• THE PATIENT’S BELIEF IN HIS OR HER ABILITY TO REFRAIN FROM DRINKING

• BOTH FACTORS ARE IMPORTANT ASPECTS OF RELAPSE PREVENTIONS

is marijuana chemically addictive

fulfills most of the common features attributed to compounds with reinforcing properties

• NEURAL CORRELATES STRIKINGLY SIMILAR TO OTHER DRUGS (E.G., ACTIVATION OF THE

VENTRAL TEGMENTAL AREA DOPAMINERGIC NEURONS)

• TOLERANCE FROM CHANGES IN BRAIN STRUCTURE (E.G., REDUCED CB1R RECEPTORS)

AND FUNCTION (E.G., G-PROTEIN EXPRESSION)

• WITHDRAWAL SYMPTOMS INCLUDE IRRITABILITY, NERVOUSNESS, RESTLESSNESS, SLEEP

DIFFICULTIES, DECREASED APPETITE, ANGER, UNCOOPERATIVENESS, AND CRAVINGS.

screen addiction

is the next topic

Videogame addiction

• BRAIN IMAGING STUDIES REVEAL SIMILARITIES IN NEUROBIOLOGICAL ALTERATIONS BETWEEN INTERNET GAMING DISORDER (IGD) AND OTHER ADDICTIONS

• ACTIVATION OCCURS IN BRAIN REGIONS LINKED TO REWARD.

• NEUROTRANSMITTER SYSTEMS STUDIES SUGGEST INVOLVEMENT OF DOPAMINE-MEDIATED REWARD MECHANISMS.

• REDUCED ACTIVITY IS OBSERVED IN IMPULSE CONTROL AREAS, LEADING TO IMPAIRED DECISION-MAKING.

• FUNCTIONAL CONNECTIVITY IS REDUCED IN BRAIN NETWORKS RELATED TO COGNITIVE CONTROL, EXECUTIVE FUNCTION, MOTIVATION, AND REWARD.

• STRUCTURAL CHANGES INCLUDE A REDUCTION IN GRAY-MATTER VOLUME AND WHITE-MATTER DENSITY.

Dual system theory

SUGGESTS THAT BEHAVIORAL EXCESS RESULTS FROM AN IMBALANCE BETWEEN

• HYPERACTIVITY OF THE REWARD SYSTEM

• THE MESOLIMBIC DOPAMINE AMYGDALASTRIATAL PATHWAY.

• HYPOACTIVITY OF THE INHIBITION SYSTEM, WHICH ENCOMPASSES PREFRONTAL REGIONS SUCH AS:

• THE ORBITOFRONTAL CORTEX (OFC)

• VENTROMEDIAL PREFRONTAL CORTEX (VMPFC)

• DORSOLATERAL PREFRONTAL CORTEX (DLPFC),

• ANTERIOR CINGULATE CORTEX (ACC) (BRAND ET AL., 2014).

Videogame addiction (#2)

• PREDISPOSITIONS:

• CERTAIN PERSONALITY TRAITS APPEAR ASSOCIATED WITH RISK OF ACQUIRING OR MAINTAINING VIDEO GAME ADDICTION:

• NEUROTICISM, SENSATION SEEKING/IMPULSIVITY, TRAIT ANXIETY, STATE ANXIETY, AND AGGRESSION

• GENDER (male)

Social media addiction

• PREDISPOSITIONS:

• CERTAIN PERSONALITY TRAITS APPEAR ASSOCIATED WITH RISK OF ACQUIRING OR MAINTAINING SOCIAL MEDIA ADDICTION:

• FEMALE GENDER

• IMPULSIVITY, SELF-ESTEEM, ANXIETY, SOCIAL ANXIETY, AGE, AND NEGATIVE ATTENTIONAL BIASES

• INSECURE ATTACHMENT STYLES

Social media can manifest in:

• MOOD DISTURBANCE

• INTERPERSONAL PROBLEMS

• NEGATIVE PHYSICAL AND EMOTIONAL OUTCOMES

• POORER MENTAL HEALTH (STRESS, ANXIETY, DEPRESSION)

• LOWERED ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE

hyper-personal model

EVIDENCE SUGGESTING PROBLEMS MEDIATED BY SELF-ESTEEM

• EXPOSURE TO SELECTIVE AND GLORIFIED SELF-PRESENTATIONS ONLINE (I.E., UPWARD COMPARISONS) LEAD TO BELIEFS THAT OTHERS ARE MORE SUCCESSFUL AND HAPPIER

New clinical phenomena

is the next topic

Fear of missing out (FOMO)

• “A PERVASIVE APPREHENSION THAT OTHERS MIGHT BE HAVING REWARDING EXPERIENCES FROM WHICH ONE IS ABSENT”

• POSITIVE CORRELATION BETWEEN SOCIAL NETWORKING SITE USAGE AND FOMO, WITH DOWNSTREAM CORRELATIONS TO DEPRESSION, ANXIETY, AND NEUROTICISM

Doom/aimless scrolling

• CONTINUOUS SCROLLING THROUGH MEDIA PLATFORMS FOR NEGATIVE OR DISTRESSING INFORMATION (DOOM) OR SENSATION-SEEKING IRRESPECTIVE OF CONTENT (AIMLESS)

another phenomena

• INCREASED PREVALENCE IN TIC DISORDERS AND DISSOCIATE IDENTITY DISORDER

HALTIGAN ET AL. (2023)

• “[FOR] A SUBSET OF... ADOLESCENT-AGED [WOMEN], USE OF... SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS SUCH AS INSTAGRAM AND TIKTOK, ESPECIALLY AT MODERATE AND HIGH LEVELS, IS ASSOCIATED WITH [FUNCTIONAL TIC-LIKE BEHAVIORS]... AND SELF-DIAGNOSIS OF VARIOUS MENTAL ILLNESSES.”

• “THERE HAS BEEN A RECOGNITION OF VAST ONLINE ‘NEURODIVERGENCE’ ECOSYSTEM IN WHICH ... MENTAL ILLNESS SYMPTOMS AND DIAGNOSES ARE VIEWED... AS CONSUMER IDENTITIES OR CHARACTER TRAITS THAT MAKE INDIVIDUALS SHARPER AND MORE INTERESTING THAN OTHERS AROUND THEM”

• “THE ABOVE RECOGNITION OF THIS OSTENSIBLY HETEROGENEOUS SOCIOGENIC ILLNESS BEHAVIOR, LOOSELY BOUNDED BY CLASSICAL NOTIONS OF MENTAL HEALTH DIAGNOSES, SUGGESTS THE POSSIBILITY THAT THE INCREASINGLY ALGORITHMIC... AND ... IMMERSIVE SOCIAL MEDIA ENVIRONMENT IS A SCOPIC MEDIUM... IN WHICH VARIOUS NEURODIVERGENT’ OR SICK ROLE... IDENTITIES OR PERSONAS CAN BE CLAIMED AT WILL, AT ANY GIVEN MOMENT—WITH NO ANTECEDENT BIOLOGICAL BASIS OR TETHER TO EMPIRICAL REALITY—WITH POSITIVE SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL REINFORCEMENT AND RESONANCE FROM THE ASSOCIATED ONLINE COMMUNITY (E.G., VIA THE USE OF HASHTAGS; USER-TO-USER SHARING AND AMPLIFICATION OF CONTENT)”

psychobiology of social media use

Flannnery et all

• ADDICTIVE USE OF SOCIAL MEDIA ACROSS PUBERTY LED TO DECREASED RESPONSIVITY IN THE VENTRAL MEDIA PFC, MEDIAL PFC, POSTERIOR CINGULATE CORTEX, AND RIGHT INFERIOR FRONTAL GYRUS.

• THE CHANGES ASSOCIATED WITH INCREASED SOCIAL MEDIA USAGE AMONG ADOLESCENT GIRLS WHICH TIED TO INCREASED DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS.

• ADDICTIVE SYMPTOMATOLOGY:

• USE BECOMES LESS REWARDING AND MORE COMPULSORY OVER TIME, STARTING WITH INITIAL DIFFICULTIES INHIBITING USE AND, THROUGH CONDITIONING, CUE REACTIVITY AND CRAVINGS.

• SOCIAL MEDIA USE ACTIVATES THE SAME BRAIN REGIONS AS DOES HEROINE AND COCAINE (E.G., NUCLEUS ACUMBENS, VENTRAL TEGMENTAL AREA, PREFRONTAL CORTEX, BASAL GANGLIA).

• STANFORD PSYCHIATRIST ANNA LEMBKE NOTES (GOLDMAN, 2021):

“JUST AS THE HYPODERMIC NEEDLE IS THE DELIVERY MECHANISM FOR DRUGS LIKE HEROIN, THE SMARTPHONE IS THE MODERN-DAY HYPODERMIC NEEDLE, DELIVERING DIGITAL DOPAMINE FOR A WIRED GENERATION.”

social media and big data

• TRISTON HARRIS:

“IF YOU’RE NOT PAYING FOR THE PRODUCT, YOU ARE THE PRODUCT”

• FILTERING:

• SOCIAL MEDIA ALGORITHMS SELECTIVELY PRESENT CONTENT TO USERS, WHICH CAN CREATE “ECHO CHAMBERS”

• HYPER NUDGING:

• USE OF ALGORITHMS TO SUBTLY INFLUENCE USERS' BEHAVIOR (E.G., LIKING) OR DECISION-MAKING (E.G., PURCHASING) THROUGH TARGETED RECOMMENDATIONS OR PROMPTS.

• MICROTARGETING:

• USE OF DETAILED USER TO DELIVER HIGHLY PERSONALIZED CONTENT OR ADS

• THESE APPROACHES REFLECT THAT THE BUSINESS MODEL IS ADDICTION, WHICH SIDE EFFECTS INCLUDING POLITICAL POLARIZATION, MISINFORMATION SPREAD, AND POLITICAL INEQUALITY

recommendations

• SET GOALS AND BOUNDARIES:

• USE SCREEN TIME TRACKING TO SET LIMITS AND LIMIT SCREEN TIME USAGE TO CERTAIN TIMES AND PLACES

• TUNE OUT:

• TURN OFF NOTIFICATIONS AND IDENTIFY PERSONALLY-TRIGGERING CONTENT

• REPLACEMENT BEHAVIORS:

• FIND APPS THAT ARE PRODUCTIVE USES OF YOUR TIME

• FIND OTHER PRODUCTIVE USES OF YOUR TIME