Lesson 8.1.3

8.1.3 Learning explanations of addiction Quiz: Pearson Edexcel Psychology, Unit 8

20 questions

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Lesson 8.1.3, Learning explanations of addiction: 20 multiple choice questions for the Pearson Edexcel Psychology (9PS0), Unit 8: Health psychology, written with Revision Ninja.

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The 20 questions

  1. In classical conditioning, what is the unconditioned stimulus in a learned explanation of drug craving?

    • The drug itself, which produces a natural pleasurable effect without any learning
    • The person's expectation that the drug will be available later
    • A visual image of a cigarette packet that the person has never seen before
    • The room where the drug is usually taken, which has no effect on its own

  2. Which term describes a neutral cue, such as a bar or a particular time of day, that becomes linked to drug taking and triggers craving?

    • Unconditioned response
    • Conditioned stimulus
    • Monotropic bond
    • Negative reinforcer

  3. Negative reinforcement is a key part of the learning explanation of heroin addiction. What does it involve?

    • Watching someone else take the drug and being rewarded for it
    • Being punished for taking the drug
    • Gaining a pleasurable feeling after taking the drug
    • Removing an unpleasant state, such as withdrawal, which strengthens drug-taking

  4. Which type of learning explains how a person might begin smoking after seeing friends smoke and being admired for it?

    • Classical conditioning alone
    • Biological reward learning only
    • Observational learning through social modelling
    • Monotropic attachment

  5. Which key feature distinguishes operant conditioning from classical conditioning in drug addiction?

    • There is no difference between the two processes
    • Classical conditioning involves rewards, while operant conditioning involves punishment only
    • Operant conditioning cannot apply to drugs
    • In operant conditioning, behaviour is strengthened or weakened by its consequences, whereas classical conditioning pairs stimuli

  6. A person who drinks alcohol after work in the same pub every day finds that the pub itself triggers a strong urge to drink. Which learning explanation best accounts for this?

    • Genetic predisposition to the environment
    • Observational learning from the bar staff
    • Negative reinforcement from withdrawal in the pub
    • Classical conditioning, where the pub has become a conditioned stimulus linked to drinking

  7. Which explanation for nicotine use involves the idea that smoking is reinforced by feeling calm after a cigarette and avoiding stress?

    • Monotropic attachment
    • Classical conditioning through a neutral stimulus
    • Observational learning from a parent
    • Operant conditioning through negative reinforcement

  8. A researcher finds that rats trained to press a lever to receive an alcohol solution press it more when they receive the solution after each press. Which learning process does this illustrate?

    • Positive reinforcement
    • Classical conditioning of a neutral tone
    • Negative punishment
    • Monotropy

  9. Which evaluation point is most appropriate for learning explanations of addiction?

    • They explain addiction without any reference to the environment
    • They can only be tested using questionnaires
    • They explain how addiction can be acquired and maintained through experience, but may underplay biological vulnerability
    • They have been fully disproved by neuroscience

  10. Why is the learning explanation of addiction considered to have practical value for treatment?

    • It proves that all treatment is unnecessary
    • It shows that addiction is impossible to change
    • It explains that addiction is caused only by genetics
    • If addiction is learned, the learned associations can potentially be unlearned through techniques such as extinction or counter-conditioning

  11. A smoker describes lighting a cigarette every time they finish a cup of coffee. Which learning concept best describes this pattern?

    • Monotropic dependence on caffeine
    • Negative punishment from the coffee shop
    • Biological tolerance to nicotine only
    • Classical conditioning, where the coffee has become a conditioned stimulus for smoking

  12. Which combination of processes best explains why a heroin user might continue use after the initial euphoria has faded?

    • Observational learning only
    • Monotropic attachment and privation
    • Aversion therapy and extinction only
    • Negative reinforcement by relieving withdrawal and classical conditioning of cues

  13. A study measures how often participants smoke when they are shown smoking cues compared with neutral images. Which conclusion does the design allow?

    • Smoking cues are never relevant to behaviour
    • The study proves that nicotine is harmless
    • Neutral images cause smoking more often than cues
    • Cues may trigger smoking, supporting the classical conditioning explanation

  14. Which of the following is a limitation of relying on classical conditioning to explain alcohol dependence?

    • It requires the use of a double-blind procedure
    • It cannot account for any kind of association
    • It has been proven to apply only to animals
    • It does not explain why some people who experience the same cues become dependent and others do not

  15. Bandura's model of observational learning in relation to alcohol would predict that a teenager is more likely to drink after seeing which situation?

    • A stranger drinking alone at home with no consequences
    • A parent warning about drink-driving
    • A admired older peer drinking and being praised for it
    • A peer declining a drink and being ignored

  16. A researcher argues that addiction is maintained by negative reinforcement rather than positive reinforcement. Which finding would best support this argument?

    • Users report that alcohol tastes better after the first drink
    • Users report drinking mainly to escape anxiety and withdrawal rather than for pleasure
    • Users report drinking only at parties for fun
    • Users report that they never feel any relief from drinking

  17. Which statement is the most accurate summary of the learning explanation of addiction?

    • Addiction is caused only by a single gene
    • Addiction cannot be explained by any psychological theory
    • Addiction is always a conscious and fully rational choice made after careful thought
    • Addiction is acquired and maintained through classical and operant conditioning and social learning

  18. A drug user takes a drug once to relieve pain and later finds that the pleasant feeling makes them take it more often even when there is no pain. Which process explains the continued use?

    • Positive reinforcement from the pleasant effect, which strengthens the behaviour independently of the original pain
    • Observational learning from a doctor
    • Classical conditioning of pain signals
    • Negative reinforcement from pain relief only

  19. Why might a learning explanation of drug misuse be useful for designing an anti-drug intervention?

    • It suggests that adults never learn from their environment
    • It identifies cues and reinforcers that can be targeted to reduce the learned behaviour
    • It shows that drugs cannot be avoided by any learning
    • It explains addiction only in terms of biology

  20. A teenager's drinking increases after they discover that drinking with friends brings praise and acceptance. Which learning process best explains this?

    • Negative punishment through loss of privileges
    • Biological tolerance through receptor adaptation
    • Positive reinforcement through social approval
    • Classical conditioning of a neutral tone

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