Date of Award
2025
Document Type
Thesis
Department
Psychology
Mentor
David Carscaddon
Abstract
Addiction is a multidimensional disorder that is heavily influenced by behavior, biology, and social interaction. These factors work together to make addiction persist and make relapse easier. Three major models of addiction are explored--behaviorism, biology, and social learning theory, which all contribute to the understanding of addiction, and their respective treatments can be individual, and when integrated. Behavior models highlight how conditioning and reinforcement contribute to addiction, while biological studies focus on dopamine changes in the brain that alter other areas of brain chemistry. Social learning theories add to the environmental cue associations that behaviorism mentions briefly. The implications that these theories have when integrated are studied and emphasize the importance of creating a personal treatment and prevention plan based on the combination of these three theories.
Citation Information
Ferrell, Abby, "Brain On Drugs: The Rewarding and Punishing Effects of Addiction and Relapse" (2025). Undergraduate Honors Theses. 74.
https://digitalcommons.gardner-webb.edu/undergrad-honors/74