Evaluate 2 individual diffs of addictive behaviour (10)

• Para 1: personality

  • P: one individual difference explanation of addictive behaviour is personality, particularly traits like impulsivity and neuroticism.

  • E: Eysenck’s theory suggests individuals with high neuroticism (N) and psychoticism (P) scores are more prone to addiction due to their tendency to seek immediate gratification or struggle with emotional regulation. For example, Dong et Al. (2013) found that students who scored higher in N and P were more likely to develop internet addiction over time, suggesting a potential causal relationship.

  • E: however, most research is correlational, so it is difficult to determine whether personality causes addiction or is shaped by it. Many traits linked to addiction, such as impulsivity, are also seen in behaviours like criminality, which undermines the idea of a distinct ”addictive personality.” Moreover, Kerr (1996) argued that the concept is too broad and may describe most…
• Para 1: personality (2)

  … people to some degree.

  • L: therefore, while personality may influence addictive behaviour, it is unlikely to be a clear-cut explanation and may only act as one factor among many.
• Para 2: cognitive biases

  • P: another explanation is cognitive biases, particularly in gambling addiction, which distort how individuals perceive risks and outcomes.

  • E: Griffiths (1994) found that regular fruit machine players made more irrational statements than non-regular players, suggesting biases like gambler’s fallacy and illusion of control contribute to gambling behaviour

  • E: however, this may only describe how gamblers think rather than explain why they become addicted. These same biases are also seen in non-gamblers, which challenges their explanatory power. Additionally, studies often rely on self-reports, which are vulnerable to social desirability and researcher bias.

  • L: this suggests cognitive biases may play a role in maintaining addiction but are unlikely to be the root cause on their own
• Conclusion

  In conclusion, both personality and cognitive biases provide useful insights into individual differences in addiction. However, due to issues with causality and limited predictive power, they are best understood as part of a broader, multi-factorial explanation.