Collection of papers written by recognised experts in the field of addictive behaviour. The book presents a new approach to understanding such behaviour based on the premise that it represents a breakdown in self-regulatory processes. Includes bibliographies.

This book proposes a new science of self-control based on the principles of behavioral psychology and economics. Claiming that insight and self-knowledge are insufficient for controlling one's behavior, Howard Rachlin argues that the only way to achieve such control--and ultimately happiness--is through the development of harmonious patterns of behavior. Most personal problems with self-control arise because people have difficulty delaying immediate gratification for a better future reward. The alcoholic prefers to drink now. If she is feeling good, a drink will make her feel better. If she is feeling bad, a drink will make her feel better. The problem is that drinking will eventually make her feel worse. This sequence--the consistent choice of a highly valued particular act (such as having a drink or a smoke) that leads to a low-valued pattern of acts--is called "the primrose path." To avoid it, the author presents a strategy of "soft commitment," consisting of the development of valuable patterns of behavior that bridge over individual temptations. He also proposes, from economics, the concept of the substitutability of "positive addictions," such as social activity or exercise, for "negative addictions," such as drug abuse or overeating. Self-control may be seen as the interaction with one's own future self. Howard Rachlin shows that indeed the value of the whole--of one's whole life--is far greater than the sum of the values of its individual parts.

About a decade ago, psychologists began exploring the commonalities among alcohol and drug abuse, smoking, and obesity. The term sub stance abuse evolved into the current concept of addictive behaviors, which recognizes similarities with other behaviors that do not involve consummatory responses (e. g. , pathological gambling, compulsions, sexual deviations). Professional societies and journals now have been founded in both Britain and the United States with the purpose of focus ing on research and treatment in the area of addictive behaviors. As the field has evolved, new models have emerged to address the questions and puzzles that face professionals. This volume examines some of these current issues and, in particular, explores common pro cesses of change that seem to cut across the addictive behaviors. The chapters are based on papers presented at the Third International Con ference on Treatment of Addictive Behaviors, which was held at North Berwick, Scotland, in August of 1984. The conference was organized around an integrative model of stages and processes of change that has been useful in organizing new knowledge about how to intervene with addictive behaviors. This model is set forth by its authors, Jim Prochaska and Carlo DiClemente, in Chapter 1. In Chapter 2, Fred Kanfer ex pounds his own model of self-regulation, which overlaps nicely with the Prochaska-DiClemente framework and provides a behavioral-theoretical context.

Views on addiction are often polarised - either addiction is a matter of choice, or addicts simply can't help themselves. But perhaps addiction falls between the two? This book contains views from philosophy, neuroscience, psychiatry, psychology, and the law exploring this middle ground between free choice and no choice.

Designed as a handbook for professionals working in the four major areas of substance abuse, this volume focuses on current research and knowledge regarding the effectiveness of alternative approaches. It includes reviews of current research in each area, specifically examining common ground in etiology, process and treatment.

This collection of original essays by members of the National Academy of Sciences’ Committee on Substance Abuse and Habitual Behavior offers innovative perspectives on self-control over the use of habituating substances and related types of behavior. The authors review the powerful social-psychological influences of normative rules and interpersonal circumstances in developing individual capacities for self-control in, for example, the use of heroin. They also look at experimental contingencies under which animals engage in self-harming behavior; the induction of exaggerated consumption behavior, such as massive fluid drinking by laboratory rats; and studies of environmental and genetic influences on neurophysiological sensitivity to and preference for alcohol in laboratory mouse strains. The concluding chapter presents an unorthodox perspective on ways of self-governing the consumption of cigarettes and other substances, recognizing the peculiarities of the processes of human choice. In his introduction, volume editor Peter Levison contrasts the diverse approaches reflected in the book with the common-sense notion of self-control.