learning theory of nicotine addiction

role of classical conditioning in nicotine addiction

• Unconditioned stimulus could be going out with friends, which results in an unconditioned response of enjoyment and relaxation

• Neutral stimulus is a cigarette, and once smoked, is associated with the unconditioned response of relaxation and enjoyment

• The cigarette/smoking then becomes the conditioned stimulus, and enjoyment and relaxation is the conditioned response

role of operant conditioning in nicotine addiction

• Operant conditioning explains why smoking/vaping continues through the positive reinforcement of nicotine in the dopamine reward system

• If the individual does not smoke/vape for a few hours, then the feelings of agitation and anxiety that arise act as negative reinforcement

• This negative reinforcement leads to the person smoking/vaping to escape the anxiety and agitation

role of social learning theory in nicotine addiction

• SLT explains smoking/vaping through young people observing and imitating role models around them who smoke/vape

• Vicarious reinforcement leads them to expect enjoyment from smoking/vaping

role of cue reactivity in nicotine addiction

• Cue reactivity explains how an individual addicted to nicotine associates the behaviour with a variety of smoking/vaping related cues, such as a lighter, a certain scent or a location where the behaviour usually occurs

research which investigates the learning theory of nicotine addiction

• Brynner (1969)

  • Found that media images of smoking created perceptions of smoking behaviour being attractive and ‘macho’, increasing motivation to smoke

  • This lends support to SLT being implicated in smoking

• DiBlasio & Benda (1993)

  • Found that adolescent who smoked also had friends who smoked and were more likely to conform to the social norms of a smoking group, lending support to the SLT theory argument of vicarious reinforcement

• Engelmann et al. (2012)

  • Conducted a meta-analysis of studies using fMRI

  • Smokers who were given smoking-related cues showed a more pronounced, intense neural response compared to when neutral cues were shown

strengths of the learning theory of addiction

• Learning theory has real-life application, as it shows that to cease smoking/vaping, the individual needs to not only avoid nicotine but also related cue

• DiBlasio & Benda (1993) strongly supports the role of learning theory in nicotine addiction

weaknesses of learning theory of addiction

• Animal research is often used to explain addiction in terms of learning theory, but there are issues with generalising results from this to human addiction, especially as it ignores the cognitive elements of SLT, meaning the findings may not be valid

• Learning theory doesn’t take into consideration individual differences, as many people can quit smoking/vaping and don’t experience cue reactivity in the way suggested

links of the learning theory of addiction to issues & debates

• The learning theory emphasises the role of nurture in addiction development, particularly via social learning and environmental cues, rather than biological predispositions

  • This is useful for understanding the initial onset of smoking, especially in adolescents, but is less effective in explaining long-term dependency or relapse

• Learning theory can be seen as environmentally reductionist, as it oversimplifies complex addictive behaviours into stimulus-response associations and reinforcement