Explanations for Nicotine Addiction | AQA A-Level Psychology (7182)
Explanations for Nicotine Addiction
- 27 questions
- 2 subtopics
- Paper 3: Issues and options in psychology
- Paper 3
Explanations for Nicotine Addiction sits within the Addiction option for Paper 3.
It covers the neurochemical account of what nicotine does in the brain, and the learning account of how smoking behaviour is acquired and maintained by the cues surrounding it.
Sample questions from Explanations for Nicotine Addiction
Answer each one closed book first, then open the answer.
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Brain neurochemistry, including the role of dopamine
What is the mesolimbic dopamine pathway and what does it connect?
Show the answer
It is a neural pathway connecting the VTA to the nucleus accumbens, and it is central to reward and reinforcement. -
Brain neurochemistry, including the role of dopamine
Why does the rapid delivery of nicotine to the brain contribute to addiction?
Show the answer
It strengthens the association between smoking and reward, creating rapid reinforcement that contributes to addiction. -
Learning theory as applied to nicotine addiction, including reference to cue reactivity
How does positive reinforcement in operant conditioning explain the maintenance of smoking behaviour?
Show the answer
The pleasurable effects of nicotine act as a reward, increasing the likelihood that smoking behaviour will be repeated. -
Learning theory as applied to nicotine addiction, including reference to cue reactivity
Why might a former smoker experience intense cravings when visiting a pub where they used to smoke, even years after quitting?
Show the answer
Cue reactivity means that drug-associated stimuli (the pub environment) can trigger cravings and potential relapse even after prolonged abstinence, because the conditioned associations remain.
The 2 subtopics
One subtopic is one session. Work down the list.
| Subtopic | What it covers | Questions |
|---|---|---|
| Brain neurochemistry, including the role of dopamine | The receptors nicotine binds to, the dopamine response in the reward pathway, how tolerance develops, and why stopping produces withdrawal. | 14 |
| Learning theory as applied to nicotine addiction, including reference to cue reactivity | Classical conditioning of smoking cues, operant conditioning of the behaviour itself, cue reactivity, and why cravings can return long after stopping. | 13 |
How the guide is worked
Answering a question from memory stores it far better than reading the answer again. The guide runs that as a fixed procedure on one subtopic at a time, about twenty minutes a session.
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Step 1 · Closed book
Cover the answers. Work through one subtopic and write down what you can. Leave blanks where you have nothing.
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Step 2 · Open book
Go back to the top. Read each printed answer and write it out in full, including the ones you had right.
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Step 3 · Closed book again
Same questions, same order, from memory. The gap between pass one and pass three is the session result.
Read the full method, the return schedule and the research behind it.
Nearby topics
AQA A-Level Psychology Active Recall Guide
Every topic, not just this one. 2,999 questions with their answers.