The Learning Theory of Nicotine Addiction (AQA A Level Psychology): Revision Note

The role of classical conditioning & cue reactivity in nicotine addiction

• Classical conditioning suggests that nicotine addiction, like all behaviour, is learned through the process of association

• An unconditioned stimulus, such as going out with friends, results in an unconditioned response of enjoyment and relaxation

• One day, an individual accepts a cigarette from a friend and smokes it, and this neutral stimulus becomes associated with the unconditioned response of relaxation and enjoyment

• Smoking is therefore initiated, and the individual then associates the cigarette smoking, which is now a conditioned stimulus, with enjoyment and relaxation, which is the conditioned response

• Social learning theory can also explain how smoking or vaping starts, as young people observe and imitate role models (e.g., parents, peers, celebrities) around them who smoke/vape and vicarious reinforcement leads them to expect enjoyment from smoking/vaping

• 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 even the location where the behaviour usually occurs

  • In the diagram above, hanging out with friends would trigger a desire to smoke/vape and this would be an example of cue reactivity

• Cue reactivity is particularly important when  an individual is trying to give up smoking/vaping, as just being in certain places or with certain people can trigger the desire very strongly, as the location or the people act as cues

The 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 (withdrawal symptoms) that arise act as  negative reinforcement

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

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, and this lends support to social learning theory being implicated in smoking

• DiBlasio & Benda (1993) found that adolescents who smoked also had friends who smoked and were more likely to conform to the social norm of a smoking group, lending support to the social learning 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 

Evaluation of the learning theory of nicotine addiction

Strengths

• Learning theory has real-life application, as it shows that in order to cease smoking/vaping, the individual needs to not only avoid the nicotine but also avoid all the smoking/vaping-related cues that are likely to trigger a return to the behaviour

• Evidence strongly supports social learning theory as the best explanation for starting smoking/vaping (see DiBlasio & Benda, 1993)

Limitations

• 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 social learning theory, meaning the findings may not be valid

• Learning theory does not take into consideration individual differences, as many people can quit smoking/vaping and do not experience cue reactivity in the way suggested

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 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

  • It ignores the role played by biological, emotional and cognitive factors (e.g., genetics, personal beliefs, motivations) in addiction