Drug addiction is unquestionably a very complex phenomenon that is currently confronting all nations across the globe. This is because in the recent past the proliferation rate of drug addicts have escalated exponentially globally. In fact, in reference to ( National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 2018), Approximately over 22.3 million individuals over the age bracket of 12 are battling with drug addiction in America. Furthermore, approximately 100 individuals die each day due to drug overdoses. As such, these statistics only prove the degree at which drugs make a person dependent. It is on this grounds that a substantial number of researchers and practitioners have explored the concept of drug addiction and in turn formulated frameworks such as classical conditioning to articulate how addiction occurs. The goal of this paper is to examine the relationship that exists between classical conditioning and drug addiction.
Classical Conditioning framework contends that for any conditioning to take place there must be an unconditioned stimulus, which in turn triggers some response, termed as, unconditioned Response. For instance, an experiment was done by a Russian, most notably, Ivan Pavlov where he conditioned his dogs to salivate whenever he rung the bells to indicate that he was bringing food to the dogs. By unpacking the above example, the Unconditioned Stimuli is food, while on the other hand, the Unconditioned Response is salivation of the dogs. Subsequently, if the Unconditioned Stimulus is repeated consistently over time accompanied by a neutral stimulus such as the bell, consequently, the neutral stimulus gradually becomes a conditioned stimulus, which in turn triggers an expected response known as a conditioned response.
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Classical condition relates so much with drug addiction, in the sense that, an individual can be conditioned to depend on a specific drug. For example, alcohol can initially be an Unconditioned Stimulus, and the drinking alcohol can be an Unconditioned Response. Subsequently, if the unconditioned stimulus is repeated consistently for a long time accompanied with a neutral stimulus such as relieving stress, consequently, the neutral stimulus can graduate to become a Conditioned stimulus, which in turn triggers an expected response known as a Conditioned response. However, classical conditioning can also be adopted in helping the drug addict to overcome the drug habit by introducing a new constructive habit and subsequently conditioning them to respond to this new habit.
To sum up, the relationship that exists between drug addiction and classical conditioning is apparent, in that, an individual can be gradually conditioned to depend on drugs, hence, becoming an addict. Nonetheless, classical conditioning can equally be employed to help the drug addicts overcome their drug habit, by introducing a new constructive habit and gradually conditioning them to respond to that consistently as a substitute to the drug habit.
Reference
Gluck, M., Mercado, E and Myers, C., (2008). Classical Conditioning. Learning and Memory: From Brain to Behaviour (pp.244-292). New York: Worth Publishers.
