• Classical conditioning and operant conditioning play a huge role with the future use of a drug. First, just like in the theory of Pavlov, classical conditioning with the role of substance and addiction can start to form much similar. For example, if an individual sits in traffic after getting off work every day and pulls out marijuana to smoke in the car, the car will then start to become the conditioned stimulus to the substance, the individual will pair sitting in traffic now as its time for the daily joint. Since the car is now the conditioned stimulus to the individual, the person will now start to experience those cravings every time they are sitting in the car. Most of the time, the individual will experience relapse, since the body is now fully conditioned to …show more content…
There are however a few issues with this particular form of treatment. First, the individual can experience major relapse, the individual can also experience a withdrawal for the particular substance. Many times in therapy, individuals will pair another substance or activity to the old substance. For example, pairing chewing gum or a vape can help the individual slowly ease off of the substance and cravings, and slowly condition them back to a much more healthier lifestyle. Moreover, seeking therapists and clinicians for the lifestyle change is often recommended for those individuals. In addition to classical conditioning, operant conditioning can also play a huge role with the use of a drug. Furthermore, when an individual takes that drug or drinks that alcoholic beverage, overtime the pleasurable activity starts to become rewarding to the person, which soon develops into an addiction. Operant conditioning deals with the “rewarding behaviors” which are considered drugs and substances to some
In the case study, Jim Colbert, a third grade teacher, struggles to help a boy named Carlos. This Public School 111 was located in a metropolitan, run down neighborhood. The school was surrounded by drug dealers and trash. However, the inside of the school was bright and welcoming. Here the students were placed according to their abilities, and Jim had a 3-A class for the high achieving students. Jim had a routine that he followed every day. He would take the learning and apply it to the student’s lives with practical examples. To begin the day Jim would go through the homework with the students, and here he began to notice that Carlos was misspelling many of his words. Carlos comprehended the readings, but he was behind in his spelling. Jim talked with the other third grade teacher, Paul, about Carlos. Then, he talked to Carlos about the problem, asking him if he could get help at home. Here Jim discovered that Carlos would get little to no help at home. Jim sent home a dictionary with Carlos so that he could check his spelling, and he saw
The theory of positive and negative reinforcement has been used as one way to try and explain the addiction. The positive reinforcement is the “addition of a stimulus or event that will increase the frequency of a certain behavior” (Two Theories of Drug Addiction, Positive Reinforcement and Negative Reinforcement., 2012). The negative reinforcement would be deleting the desire or urge to use the substance.
There are many biological factors that are involved with the addicted brain. "The addicted brain is distinctly different from the nonaddicted brain, as manifested by changes in brain metabolic activity, receptor availability, gene expression, and responsiveness to environmental cues." (2) In the brain, there are many changes that take place when drugs enter a person's blood stream. The pathway in the brain that the drugs take is first to the ventral tegmentum to the nucleus accumbens, and the drugs also go to the limbic system and the orbitofrontal cortex, which is called the mesolimbic reward system. The activation of this reward system seems to be the common element in what hooks drug users on drugs (2).
Addiction, like other diseases, has the tendency to be genetic. “Addictive drugs induce adaptive changes in gene expression in the brain’s reward regions” (Bevilacqua and Goldman 359–361). The disease is also influenced by environmental conditions and behavior. Addiction genes can be passed down through family members of many generations. If one has addiction in their genes tries a drug and someone who does not have addiction in their genes and tries the same drug, it is more likely that the person with the gene will become addicted over the one without. Environmental conditions can also be a factor because someone’s lifestyle could contribute to addiction. Factors such as stress and peer pressure can influence drug or alcohol abuse. Behavior can also contribute to addiction because if a person’s attitude is obsessive and they have an addictive personality, they could become addicted to a substance. In “Addiction is Not a Disease” Daniel Akst explains actual diseases are Alzheimer’s and Schizophrenia, not addiction. For example, Akst mentions that “addicts tend to quit when the going gets hard” (Akst.) He also clarifies that addicts have the choice to have that extra drink or those extra pills every
...bad situations, avoid drugs, and cope with their feelings(Beidel& Bulik 2014). One option would be an Agonist substitution “a type of therapy that substitutes a chemically similar drug with safe medication for the drug of abuse” (Beidel& Bulik 2014).Some other methods of treatment would to use antagonist treatments to block the sensations that the drug sends to the brain by blocking the receptors. They also suggest aversive symptom treatments. This substitution drug may help when someone goes into detoxification to help wean them off a drug (Beidel& Bulik 2014). Another way to treat a person with substance abuse would get into an intervention program like Alcoholics Anonymous or another self-help group. Programs that also could be tried are Relapse Prevention, Avoidance of the stimulus and 12 Step approach and motivational enhancement therapy (Beidel& Bulik 2014).
Behavioral tolerance will occur; the response rate of the rats before and during the drug insult will produce more frequent reinforcement (more adaptive behavior) than after abstinence is introduced.
The reason addicts have lost control is because they have suffered permanent physical neurological changes based in their brains and nervous systems. The disorder manifests in long term obsessive-compulsive behaviors outside the realm of the addicts own control. It is true enough that the use of chemicals begins with chosen behavior. But if alcoholism or addiction develops, the problem has moved outside the realm of free choice. It has developed into a long term mental and physical neurological disorder. All the emotional 'feelings' involved in drug or alcohol seeking are based in neurology. Addiction is based in physical dependency created by altered neurotransmitter balances, and driven by millions upon millions of new living, functioning active neurological pathways which have been established to sustain the condition in the addicts brain. The new neurological pathways are permanently established, and they will not just disappear. The primary neurological disorder is only complicated by physical dependence on the substances. The physical dependence on the substances is secondary! Physical drug withdrawal does not change the underlying neurological addictive disorder. After drug withdrawal, long term overpowering cravings are predictable. T...
A number of experts believe that behavioral addictions ,can be passive or active and usually contain inducing and reinforcing features which may contribute to the promotion of addictive
Addiction, also known as substance use disorder, is the dependence on any type of drug, legal or illegal; alcohol and nicotine being two examples. Addiction occurs because “Drugs contain chemicals that tap into the brains communication system and disrupt the way nerve cells normally send, receive, and process information” (Understanding Drug Abuse). This disruption teaches the brain and person to keep repeating the sensation they get when using drugs, causing the individual to develop addiction problems. The sensation occurs from a rise in dopamine levels in the brain; so when an individual consumes alcohol and drugs, their dopamine levels boost. When the addiction develops, the individual’s brain changes, restricting them from making logical decisions, leading to uncontrollable cravings for whatever drug they are
Within this theory, a person who observes others doing drugs will more likely become addicted to them. When we observe addictive behaviors such as drinking or drug use, we, as humans, may want to copy their actions (Horvath, Misra, Epner, & Morgan Cooper, 2015). With this theory, the psychological and sociological effects come into play, with the reinforcement and punishment, or operant conditioning. An example given by Mosher and Akins is as follows; someone who is smoking marijuana may get reinforcement by their friends while the effects of the drug is negative
When a person first uses drugs, it is voluntary. After repeated use the user has becomes conditioned to keep using. The reason this happens is because drugs effect the brain’s reward center by filling it with dopamine. This makes the user feel pleasure by using which then makes the user want to keep using. When comparing this to classical conditioning the Neutral stimuli would be the environmental stimuli associated with drug administration, the unconditioned stimulus would be drugs effect on the brain, and the unconditioned response would be the reward received by doing drugs. After repeated use the conditioned response is now the environmental stimuli associated with drug use and the conditioned response is the reward received by doing drugs. Like with Pavlov’s dogs’ triggers response to the lab assistant and bell, Addicts can have triggers as well. Certain smalls, locations and situations can trigger and addict to use. For example, every day from work an addict sits down on their back porch and smoke a marijuana cigarette. The back porch would then become a trigger. So, every time the addict sits on their porch they then crave the marijuana cigarette. When someone is clean or sober, these triggers can lead to
I. Introduction of classical conditioning Classical conditioning also called as Pavlovian conditioning or respondent conditioning. It is a kind of learning a new behavior through association that when a conditioned stimulus (CS) is paired with an unconditioned stimulus (US) and evokes a conditioned response (CR). It also is a learning process that occurs through associations between an environmental stimulus and a naturally occurring stimulus (Cherry, 2014). Classical conditioning has much strength such as can help to explain all aspects of human behavior and many of advertisers will use classical conditioning to advertise their produces, however it also have some weaknesses such as all classical conditioning responses must involve a reflex and classical conditioning is a completely physical process, learning is not important as reflected in scenario. This paper will talk about the strengths and the weaknesses of classical conditioning theory followed by a brief description of the scenario and the strengths and weaknesses of applying classical conditioning on it.
Research demonstrates that a blend of medications, activities and counseling treatment, is the most ideal approach to guarantee freedom by and large. Dependence on substances or liquor is a treacherous sickness that can grab hold rapidly (in some cases, after first use of some drugs) or develop simply after long term substance misuse. In spite of the fact that there are sure likenesses among addicted people, every case is different, and is affected by physiology, mental, and social components, for example, age, sexual orientation, earlier drug history, the substance being abused, and family
The factors which are evidence that classical conditioning is taking place in this case are: Emily feels embarrassed, runs to the bathroom, and leaves the school with the excuse that she does not feels well, when Mr. Robinson reveals her letter to the class. In this case Mr. Robinson’s revelation of her letter is the unconditioned stimulus and the unconditioned response is her feeling embarrassed and leaving the school. The conditioned stimulus is apparent in the case when Emily remembers the incident in Mr. Robinson’s class and the conditioned response is when she feels ill, her stomach begins to hurt, she feels her body begins to sweat, and she doesn’t want to go to school. Another conditioned response is when Emily returns to school she
Addiction is a psychological condition that comes up when a person takes a drug or engages in an activity, which becomes compulsive and interferes with the ordinary responsibilities in life (Leshner, 1997). The addicts in most instances do not know that their behaviors affect others, and that it is out of control. Addiction is a physical addiction, or the biological state, whereby the body adapts to the presence of a drug to the extent that the body becomes tolerant. Because of the tolerance, there is always a reaction when an individual stops the consumption of the drug. However, the majority of the addictive behaviors is not related to the physical tolerance or exposures to cues. In most of the times, people have a compulsive need to use the drugs as a form of reaction towards emotional or psychological stress that they face. Since addictive behaviors are psychologically based, most of the people tend to switch from one form of drug to another.