AQA A LEVEL PSYCHOLOGY – ADDICTION EXAM QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS WITH COMPLETE SOLUTIONS VERIFIED

AQA A LEVEL PSYCHOLOGY – ADDICTION EXAM QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS WITH COMPLETE SOLUTIONS VERIFIED Terms in this set (40) what is physical dependence? when your body become dependent on a drug and you get withdrawal symptoms if you don't take it what is psychological dependence? a mental state in that you believe you need the drug what is meant by tolerance? when the body becomes used to a substance so has to take larger quantities to feel the same effect what are withdrawal symptoms? uncomfortable symptoms that occur when a person stops taking the substance they're addicted to explain smoking in terms of brain neurochemistry - nicotine stimulates the release of dopamine, providing feelings of pleasure and relaxation - once the dopamine has been removed from the synapse, the feeling disappears so the person will smoke again - the body will begin to expect it and reduce the amount of dopamine produced naturally - this reinforces smoking behaviour so people become addicted - quitting smoking means low dopamine levels and withdrawal symptoms such as anxiety and nausea describe a piece of research done to suggest smoking is caused by brain neurochemistry olds and milner rats had an electrode connected to the hypothalamus, when they pressed a lever it would be stimulated, releasing dopamine. rats voluntarily chose to press the lever the rats then had to walk over an area with a painful electric current in order to get to the lever, and they still chose to suggesting the release of dopamine was rewarding and addictive however even though this was highly controlled, the results can't be generalised to humans and there are ethical issues involved evaluate the brain neurochemistry explanation for smoking + research has provided support + studies involve lab experiments where the variables are controlled so it is possible to establish cause and effect + zhang et al found levels of dopamine become abnormal if an addict gives up smoking - this is reductionist because it ignores psychological factors - ignores genetic influences - research on animals can't be generalised to humans explain smoking in terms of learning theory operant conditioning: if smoking is positively reinforced it's likely to be copies. seeing role models also encourages the behaviour someone will get withdrawal symptoms if they stop smoking so smoking will become a negative reinforcement classical conditioning: smoking can become associated with other activities and objects (cue reactivity) give evidence for learning theory as an explanation for smoking operant conditioning: mayeux found that teenage boys who smoked at 16 were more popular 2 years later classical: la rowe et al gave 19 nicotine addicted males smoking related cues and neutral cues and measured craving and physical reactions. smoking related cues produced greater increases in craving and skin conductivity evaluate learning theory as an explanation for smoking + studies use human participants + can be used to explain both physical and psychological addiction + moolchan et al found that 75% of teenage smokers have at least one parent who smokes and feel it helps them fit in with their peers - too nomothetic as it assumes everyone can become addicted in the same way - doesn't explain how free will plays a part in behaviour such as smoking what are cognitive biases? mental errors or distortions of thinking that lead to perspectives and judgements that are very different to reality why do cognitive biases happen? because we subconsciously simplify things and use rules of thumb when processing info give and explain 6 cognitive biases associated with gambling - illusion of control: gamblers think of gambling as skill-based and believe they have control over the outcome - representative bias: gamblers believe that random events should look random - gambler's fallacy: many gamblers believe the longer a losing streak lasts the more likely a win will follow - illusory correlations: gamblers have superstitions which they believe help them succeed - fixation on the absolute frequency of success: gamblers can recall many past wins which creates a false image of how often they win - sunk cost bias: gamblers put a lot of money into gambling and so they believe that they'll get a return give some evidence for cognitive theory as an explanation of gambling - griffiths did a natural experiment of 30 regular and occasional gamblers who played the fruit machine and were asked to talk aloud so their cognitive ability could be assessed. regular gamblers believed they were more skilful and explained losses as near misses/wins - high ecological validity, but risk of extraneous variables