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Addiction

1. Addiction can be broadly classified from dependence on specific drugs to any behavior that exhibits addictive tendencies, such as shopping, web surfing, or sex. Dopamine is often involved. 2. Standard features of addiction include euphoria, withdrawal, tolerance, craving, crowding out other behaviors, cue dependence, and a desire to quit but inability to do so. 3. There are debates around whether addiction involves choice in initially taking the addictive substance or behavior, continuing the addiction once established, or becoming addicted in the first place.

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619 views1 page

Addiction

1. Addiction can be broadly classified from dependence on specific drugs to any behavior that exhibits addictive tendencies, such as shopping, web surfing, or sex. Dopamine is often involved. 2. Standard features of addiction include euphoria, withdrawal, tolerance, craving, crowding out other behaviors, cue dependence, and a desire to quit but inability to do so. 3. There are debates around whether addiction involves choice in initially taking the addictive substance or behavior, continuing the addiction once established, or becoming addicted in the first place.

Uploaded by

Mitko
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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24.

221 METAPHYSICS; RICHARD HOLTON

FREE WILL XIX

Addiction

Calssifying addiction. At once extreme additiction can be resticted to dependence on certain drugs (inc
alcohol, opiates, nicotine); at the other extreme it can be bradened to include or to any behaviour that
can exhibit broadly addictive tendencies (shopping, web-surfing, sex etc). Or to something in between?
Certainly there is good evidence that dopamine is involved in most cases, although the way this works
can vary (increased release; preventing it from being reabsorbed).

Standard features include:

1. Euphoria (primary and secondary effects; contrast alcohol and cigarettes)


2. Withdrawal (increased marginal utility); tolerance (decreased total utility)
3. Craving
4. Crowding out
5. Cue dependence (Siegel)
6. Desire to quit and inability to do so (this is heavily belief and society dependent)
7. Relapse

Does addiction involve choice?

Distinguish:
choosing to start on behaviour that will become addictive;
choosing to keep going once addiction has occurred;
choosing to become addicted

No choice models
Here the idea is that the behavior is truly compelled. How is this to be understood? Insensitive to other
rewards (though even this might still be a choice). Against this: most people get over additions by
decision; the effects of higher taxes etc. Watson: the addict is not so much overpowered as seduced.

Rational choice models


Becker and Murphy: initial need to get over a bad spell, combined with very steep discount curves
Ainslie: hyperbolic discount curves

Irrational choice models


Most of these involve the idea that choices were made initially (though normally in some ignorance); so
the path to addiction was chosen (without necessarily realizing that that was what it was), but current
behavior is not free.
Primrose path (Herrnstein and Prelec): failure to notice effects on the desirability of other options.
Visceral craving (Lowenstein): failure to anticipate the strength of the cravings.
Ainslie?
Watson: it’s not that addicts can’t resist, it’s that there is reason that they don’t. What is this:
addicts lack the ability to make the effort to resist? Or they lack the desire to make the effort? Or they
lack the belief that it is worthwhile to make the effort?

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