personality - evaluation

• SUPPORTING RE

  Dalley - impulsive rats more likely to administer cocaine

  Gossop + Eysenck = sample - 200 + drug addicts > link - drug addiction and high psychoticism and neuroticism scores

  positive link > AB and personality > supports RO personality traits (p and n) in AB

  validity and credibility to exp
• METHODOLOGY ISSUES WITH RESEARCH

  large body of R = correlational (Gossop + Eysenck) > diff to infer C + E

  > Personality tests often given after AB developed

  C + E can't be established > may be that AB causes individual to be more stressed / impulsive - rather - personality causing them to seek out AB's

  R relies heavily > personality questionnaires > prone to social desirability (lie about traits / blame A on personality) > lowers validity
• LIMITED - NOT ALL TRAITS CAN BE LINKED TO ALL AB - only some

  } McNamara - impulsive rats - tendency to self administer cocaine + heroine > impulsive rats - self administer higher levels of cocaine and not heroine

  challenges exp > suggests only certain AB can be influenced by personality
• TOO SIMPLISTIC

  complex AB - result of personality alone

  fails to account for other influences > have evidence to implicate their role in AB

  therefore unlikely > solely due to personality

  better exp > interaction of factors - Diathesis Stress Model
• TOO SIMPLISTIC - EXT

  } Bucholtz - impulsivity levels in non-A individuals and recorded dopamine release when given amphetamines

  those with high impulsivity - released more dopamine in response to amphetamines

  sug - impulsive individuals - more likely to get addicted because of a greater dopamine rush from substance than fulfilling needs

  sug - bio factors may be more responsible than personality
• CONCLUSION

  • some supporting ev + contradictory > suggests P not sole cause
  • degree to which P influences AB - based - sub/b person A to > exp some not all
  • ROP - not useful explanation - characters tend to be fixed > so exp can't be used for treatment > though knowing traits is useful to be aware of in therapy
  • better to take holistic view > P - one contributor in complex interaction