Learning approach to smoking

• Children will observe others smoking and imitate the behaviour.
• Parents, siblings and friends are strong role models.
• As smoking provides a pleasureful experience it is positively reinforced when someone smokes, which will increase the chances of them continuing to smoke.
• Positive and negative reinforcement acts as a form of maintenance for an individuals to continue smoking.
• Negative reinforcement is shown when the pleasureful feeling removes any other negative emotions that the individual may experience such as withdrawal symptoms.
• Places, people and certain times of the day become conditioned stimuli which will cause a conditioned response (smoking)
• Cue reactivity can be used to explain why smokers relapse .
• Learning approach is reductionist by not taking into consideration other variables.
• Negative emotions or being in a bad mood were strong predictions of relapse for those addicted to smoking.