Behavioural Theory Of Addiction - Assignment Solution

Introduction

Drug addiction is a complex illness that starts with the intake of a drug for fun or influenced by peer pressure. This develops to a point where an individual’s ability to make choices on drug use is compromised due to the effects of prolonged drug use on the brain and behaviour. Drug addiction is a compulsive craving and seeking for a drug and using it in a persistent way regardless of its adverse consequences (Wise & Koob, 2014). A person with a drug addiction condition has difficulties in controlling the use of the drug even when there is visible health, social, and economic consequence. The behavioural theory of addiction is an example model to understand drug addiction. This involves examining the principles and assumptions, strength and weaknesses, as well as its use and practical implications. Since the behavioural theory has two forms of conditioning, this essay will focus on the classical conditioning also known as Pavlovian conditioning.

Principles, Values and Assumptions

The classical conditioning of drug addiction is based on the values of the stimulus-response relationship. This implies that an individual develops addiction behaviour as an automatic response to a certain stimulus. The theory is based on the principle of learning from the interaction with the environment and the reinforcement a person gets. The classical conditioning theory assumes that behaviours are learned through interaction with the environment (World Health Organization, 2004). In this case, the environment includes different influencers such as friends, family, economic status, and the quality of life. Individuals in an environment characterised by high level of peer pressure, physical and sexual abuse, stress, exposure to drugs and poor parenting have a higher chance of engaging in drug intake which can lead to addiction. In relation to peer pressure, individually consume drugs due to positive or negative reinforces. It starts with a response automatically elicited by a stimulus such as the need to belong to a social group. The individual consumes the drug with a neutral stimulus several times to a point where it automatically elicits the response. This occurs through positive reinforcement such as praise or a sense of belonging to the group (Thombs & Osborn, 2019). When an individual receives the praise of feels accepted in the group, he/she will respond by taking the drug leading to a positive reinforcement that influences behaviour. Negative reinforcement such as a threat of expulsion from the group also encourages conformity responses that influence the behaviour of a person in the long-run. The positive and negative reinforcements strengthen the response by influencing the drug-intake behaviour that leads to drug addiction.