An addictive behavior is a behavior, or a stimulus related to a behavior (e.g., sex or food), that is both

rewarding The reward system (the mesocorticolimbic circuit) is a group of neural structures responsible for incentive salience (i.e., "wanting"; desire or craving for a reward and motivation), associative learning (primarily positive reinforcement and class ...

and reinforcing, and is associated with the development of an

addiction Addiction is a neuropsychological disorder characterized by a persistent and intense urge to engage in certain behaviors, one of which is the usage of a drug, despite substantial harm and other negative consequences. Repetitive drug use o ...

. Apart from the aforementioned addictive behaviors the most common one would be substance addiction (including alcohol, tobacco, drugs and cannabis). There is a medical model which perceives addictive behavior as a disease that is caused by uncontrollable and recessive drug use overtimes and the addict barely has control of it. The other view is from the moral standpoint which regards addictive behavior as an intentional choice was freely made by the addict. Addictions involving addictive behaviors are normally referred to as

behavioral addiction Behavioral addiction is a form of addiction that involves a compulsion to engage in a rewarding non- substance-related behavior – sometimes called a natural reward – despite any negative consequences to the person's physical, mental, social ...

Compulsion vs addiction

Compulsions ''Compulsions'' is a drama web series A web series (also known as a web show) is a series of scripted or non-scripted online videos, generally in episodic form, released on the Internet, which first emerged in the late 1990s and became more ...

and addictions are intertwined and reward is one major distinction between an addiction and a compulsion (as it is experienced in obsessive-compulsive disorder). An addiction is, by definition, a form of compulsion, and both addictions and compulsions involve

operant reinforcement In behavioral psychology, reinforcement is a consequence applied that will strengthen an organism's future behavior whenever that behavior is preceded by a specific antecedent stimulus. This strengthening effect may be measured as a higher freq ...

. In addition, dopamine is released in the brain's reward system and is a motive for behaviour (i.e. the compulsions in addiction development through positive reinforcement). There are two main differences when it comes to compulsion versus addiction. Compulsion is the need and desire to do something or carry out a task regardless of the individual being aware of what they are doing is incorrect. Whereas addiction is often the following step after compulsion where an individual needs to do a task or take a substance to feel pleasure and satisfaction. The main differences are that compulsion does not necessarily include pleasure for the individual but addiction does. In contrast, someone who experiences a compulsion as part of obsessive-compulsive disorder may not perceive anything rewarding from acting on the compulsion. Often, it is a way of dealing with the obsessive part of the disorder, resulting in a feeling of relief (i.e., compulsions may also arise through

negative reinforcement In behavioral psychology, reinforcement is a consequence applied that will strengthen an organism's future behavior whenever that behavior is preceded by a specific antecedent stimulus. This strengthening effect may be measured as a higher freq ...

Deep brain stimulation Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is a neurosurgical procedure involving the placement of a medical device called a neurostimulator, which sends electrical impulses, through implanted electrodes, to specific targets in the brain (the brain nucleus ...

to the

nucleus accumbens The nucleus accumbens (NAc or NAcc; also known as the accumbens nucleus, or formerly as the ''nucleus accumbens septi'', Latin for "nucleus adjacent to the septum") is a region in the basal forebrain rostral to the preoptic area of the hyp ...

, a region in the brain involved heavily in addiction and reinforcement learning, has proven to be an effective treatment of

obsessive compulsive disorder Obsession may refer to: Psychology * Celebrity worship syndrome, obsessive addictive disorder to a celebrity's personal and professional life * Fixation (psychology), a persistent attachment to an object or idea * Idée fixe (psychology), a pr ...

Correlation between different personality traits and addictive behaviors online

The study indicates that there is a difference in personality traits for addictive behaviors that is associated with distinctive online tasks. Namely, higher neuroticism and less conscientiousness have a correlation with internet addiction overall; less conscientiousness and low openness to experience are connected with addiction to video games, neuroticism and extraversion were linked with social networking addiction.

Development of addictive behaviors in adolescents

The expansion of addictive behaviors in adolescence contains different phases. In the first stage, one has the ability to control appetitive motivational tendencies, but they do not have the motivation to do so. Once enough drug or alcohol-related problems emerged, individuals tend to have more encouragement to adjust appetitive desires. In this circumstance, personal willingness and ability are hindered. there are a more powerful appetitive stimulation and a weaker ability to balance this response desire. The shortcoming between these aspects are the essence of addictive behaviors in adolescents.

Therapy for addictions

Addictions might give an individual a sense of power, confidence, endorsement, or other feelings that they might not attain in their real life. Psychotherapy is a way to help people distinguish rough feelings and distress factors to adapt and grow. People that have trouble with addictive behaviors are unlikely to regulate those actions by themselves unless someone leads them to work on addressing the root of their addictive behaviors, such as trauma, stress, anxiety, and so on. There are a lot of types of therapy that can help people address the addictive behaviors which they want to alter. An individual who has an addictive behavior would most likely have the biggest advantage from consulting with a therapist that is recognized by the medical institution or organization to be the expert in the particular area of addiction or compulsion in terms of potential causes.

References

External links

VideoJug video on "What is behavioral addiction?"
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