The Effectiveness of The Incentive Salience Theory in Treatment of Drug Addicts

Introduction

Human beings are rational organisms of society. This means that the decisions taken by them are logical and rational in nature. It is this feature and unique character of the human kind which separates them from the other living species of the community. Rationality refers to that mental state whereby the living organisms tries to judge a particular situation which is present in front of them and take decisions which are most likely to help them resolve the issue. There is no impact on emotions in such cases of rationalization and logical argument. This is significant to understand as the level of rationalization that is present with a particular individual, depends on the level of their cognitive development. However, often times it is observed that there are many individuals in the society who often fail to rationalize their decisions or judgments. Such situations might occur for a variety of reason and are especially seen in the cases of addiction that may be experienced by the concerned individual. Addiction plays a vital role in determining the life choices of a person. When a person as addiction, he or she often fails to rationalize the decisions that are taken when the issue of addiction comes in to play. During these times, as a result, the concerned human beings lose their sense of judgments and their special characterization which makes them human beings in the first place. In this context, the psychology of a person can be analyzed and examined in a relevant manner (Hickey & Peelen, 2015). The purpose of this essay is to understand the theory of Incentive Salience where the behaviour of a person is judged and analyzed in the cases of addiction. Furthermore, the essay also provides evidence of this theory in order to validate the findings of the theory. The essay concludes with the discussion on the effectiveness of the theory that is if it can lead to the efficient treatment of addiction that is experienced by the various human beings of the society.

Meaning of Addiction

Often times it is observed that the human beings in the society are addicted to a particular substance. Addiction refers to the state where an individual feels that he or she is unable to function effectively without taking recourse to the substance to which they are addicted to. This is significant in nature as the substances that an individual is addicted to, have the potential to destroy the life of the concerned people. The different substances to which a person can generally experience addiction are those of alcoholic drinks, tobacco and drugs of various kinds. All of these substances have the ability to inhibit the rational side of a person to the extent that they can no longer logically think about their life decisions. They fall dependent upon such various substances and have the idea that without such substances, they would find it quite difficult to live. It is this state of thinking where a person faces addiction.

There is a various number of reasons which leads to addiction within a person. One of the main reasons for the occurrence of addiction among people is that of monetary issues (Shamay-Tsoory & Abu-Akel, 2016). Often times it is observed that people face the problem of limited money whereby they do not have enough money to enjoy a higher standard of living. This has a severe adverse impact on the life of the concerned people as they often feel helpless and frustrated. As a consequence of this, they take recourse to various substances which might help them to overcome the pain they are feeling. In this regard, the issue of addiction comes in to play as the people become dependent upon such substances. Another reason which might lead a person to addiction is that of personal relationship issues. Such issues can be seen to be occurring in the families of the concerned persons or among their loved ones. These problems often pose mental stress on the minds of the people. They are unable to cope with such stress and therefore, are desirous of finding ways whereby they do not have to deal with their thought processes. Under such a situation, it can be seen that such concerned people try to find relief from several other sources which have the power of making them forget their feelings for a short period of time. These substances again have the ability to be addicted to if they are misused by the concerned people. In this regard, it can be stated that such people become addicted to substances as a result of their feelings.

From the analysis of these two situations, it can be observed that people often become addicted when they face certain problems and issues in their lives which they cannot cope with in a healthy manner. During the times when they do not have a solution to their problems, the people try to take support and aid from those substances which have the ability to numb their feelings for a considerable period of time so that they do not have to face their problems or be mentally stressed. Under such circumstances, it can be seen that they begin to abuse the use of certain substances that have the power to interfere with their cognitive thinking ability. Such substances become addictive substances due to the fact that they were misused by the concerned people. It is such misuse of the products which leads to a person being addicted to that particular product.

The Incentive Salience Theory

Addiction is a result of excessive desiring of a particular substance. The various reasons that were mentioned above cause a person to be heavily dependent on the use of a particular substance that affects the cognitive thinking capacity of the individual (Beckmann & Chow, 2015). This is significant in nature as such substances have the potential to impact adversely the work efficiency of the person under question. This is the result of the numbness experienced in the cognitive functioning of the person. The decision making the power of the individual is affected and they start to lose out on their ability to think and function in an efficient manner. Thus, from this, there is an understanding that the different substances of addiction are able to inhibit the thought process of an individual. They cannot rationalize their decisions anymore and therefore, cannot think in logical terms (Ito, Ida & Tanaka, 2018). This not only reduces their workability but also starts to impact their life opportunities in an adverse manner. Furthermore, the problems they were initially facing starts to get worse as they no longer have the ability to make think in a logical manner which would have helped them to find a relevant solution for the situation.

Thus, there is an imminent need to control the habit of addiction that is experienced by the people in the society. They need to be able to control their emotions and life opportunities. In order to control addiction among the people, various psychological ideas and theories exist (Bickel et al., 2018). The branch of psychology tries to understand human behaviour so that the different people engaged in this field can provide better solutions to the people who are facing certain crises in life. Addiction is one of the most critical crises that an individual can face in his or her lifetime. In order to address such level of addiction, it is necessary for the psychologists to address the root cause of the problem.

In this regard, the Incentive Salience Theory was formulated. The Incentive Salience Theory lays emphasis on the fact that addiction occurs in an individual as a result of their excessive desiring of a particular substance or product. Thus, there is a need on the part of the psychologists or the doctors to reduce the need in a person for such a substance. This is done with the aid of motivation. This theory tries to motivate the people so that they would be able to control their addiction to the extent that it would not cause much problem to the life choices of the concerned people. The Incentive Salience Theory is significant in nature as it tries to address the very behaviour of the person. The addiction problem can be analyzed to be rooted in the behaviour of an individual. If this issue is addressed in a considerable way, then there is a chance that the addiction problem of the person may be resolved to a significant extent. The Incentive Salience Theory tries to provide motivation to the individuals so that they may be inspired to let go off their addiction (Berridge, 2017). In other words, the Incentive Salience Theory attempts to appeal to the very soul of the individual persons. Furthermore, it also tries to appeal to the cognitive level of the person. The level of cognitive thinking that can be observed within an individual, is partly the result of the various experiences that they might have had in their life. All these experiences provide important life lessons to the person by the way of morals and ethics. The characterizing feature of every individual is that of their ability to rationalize the decisions and the judgments that are taken by them. This is impacted in a negative manner by the different substances that a person is addicted to.

Evidence for Incentive Salience Theory

The effectiveness of the Incentive Salience Theory has been sought to be proved from various circumstances. One of the experiments performed was with the case of the administration of a medication known as amphetamine within the concerned human beings (Ostafin & Feyel, 2019). This is done with the objective of sensitizing an individual towards a particular activity. For instance, the eye blinking responses. This has a special significance for the drug addicts in society. The attention span of a drug addict is based on the visual representation of the drug in front of them. This acts as a cue to the drug addicts whereby they feel the need to consume the drug which is available in front of them.

This experiment proved that it is the behaviour of the person which needs to be changed over time. If the behaviour of the concerned individual is properly addressed then their urge to intake drugs is affected to a considerable extent. Through Incentive Salience Theory the actions of the individuals are sought to be changed by motivating the individuals not to consume such drugs. The factor of motivation affects the cognitive thinking process of the person. This means that the psychologists try hard to influence the psychology of the person. The basic behaviour of the individual is sought to be reformed with the help of the Incentive Salience Theory.

The Effectiveness of the Incentive Salience Theory and Its Implications

The effectiveness of the Incentive Salience Theory can be judged from the various success that this theory had on human civilization. The different psychologists have attempted to influence the behaviour of individuals who suffer from addiction. The Incentive Salience Theory is for the people who suffer from addiction to various substances and become dependent on these substances as a result of their personal reasons. In this regard, it is seen that the Incentive Salience Theory attempts to influence the vulnerable people with the element of motivation. Motivation is a psychological concept whereby the mind of the person is sought to be reformed in a particular direction. It is the subconscious mind of the individual which is influenced as a result of motivation. Thus, this is can be observed that the psychology of a person is attempted to be changed. This helps in bringing about a change in their addiction behaviour.

Thus, the Incentive Salience Theory can be seen to be effective for treating the different cases of addiction. This is due to the fact that being addicted to a particular substance is dependent on the mental setup of the individual under question. If he or she so decides to be addicted to the substance, then there is a very less chance that the individual would follow any other thought process. In this regard, the importance of the cognitive development process of the individual comes into consideration.

The cognitive development of a person occurs as a result of the various experiences that one is subjected to in the course of his or her lifetime. Furthermore, it is also the result of the knowledge that one imbibes throughout the different stages of development in life. The combination of these two aids a person to effectively judge a particular situation and take a decision which is considered to be the most suitable under the circumstances. This is also applicable during those times that a person faces problems. In this regard, it can be said that if the person has an efficient level of cognitive development, then he or she would be able to judge a situation in a more rational and logical manner and be able to find the suitable solution under the times. However, if there is a weak development of the cognition of the person, then he or she would not be able to take the appropriate decision to solve the situation in an effective manner. This further affects the related life choices of the individuals. Thus, there is a need for a strong development of the cognitive thinking capability of a person for him or her to handle the different hurdles and obstacles in life. If this does not occur, then there is a likely chance that the individual will succumb to addiction whenever he or she faces a problem in life.

In order to prevent this from happening the Incentive Salience Theory is used. Under this theory, the individuals who are suffering from addiction, are provided with certain kind of rewards and recognition if they show attitudes which provides that they have been able to reduce their drug intake habit. This is significant as it tries to influence people with regards to their subconscious nature. If the subconscious factor of an individual is appealed to a proper manner, then chances are that they would change their behaviour. This is in contrast to the attempts made to change the behaviour of a person in an outward manner. During these times, it can be observed that the concerned individuals often pose a restraint when they become aware that someone intentionally tries to change their behaviour. It is due to the reason that during these times, they feel the loss of their own character in the hands of another. Every individual wants to be in charge of their own fate and thought process even in times of crisis. The moment they start to feel that another individual is attempting to change their behaviour and individual, they start to provide resistance to this effect. This is significant to understand as the Incentive Salience Theory tries to change the behaviour of a person without making him or her aware of it. Over here, the element of motivation comes in to play.

Thus, it can be argued that the Incentive Salience Theory is capable of changing the drug habits of a person with the aid of motivational factors. For instance, when a particular psychologist tries to motivate a person with regard to his or her behaviour, it is not done in an explicit manner. This is done in a general manner where the individuals are tried to make aware of the various problems they might face as a result of their drug addiction. Furthermore, individuals are left to decide for themselves about their behaviours and attitudes. There is no attempt made by the psychologists to make the people feel that they are completed to change their behaviour. However, under Incentive Salience Theory, if the individuals to change their behaviour, they are rewarded in a considerable manner in the form of rewards and recognition. This is done in such an implicit manner that it has proved to be successful in the case of dealing with people who suffer from drug addiction.

Conclusion

In conclusion, it can be observed that Incentive Salience Theory is an important psychological mechanism to deal with people who suffer from instances of drug addiction. In the course of the essay, it has been found out that economic reasons and personal reasons lead to drug addiction among the people of society. For instance, at times, it can be seen that people do not have the necessary monetary funds to sustain themselves in society. As a result of this, they are unable to enjoy a decent standard of living. Furthermore, personal relationship issues can also lead to the generation of mental stress within a person. All these different factors have the potential to lead a person to the edge of drug addiction. Although these issues might cause a person to take recourse to certain substances which have a way of providing them with relief, it is their attitude and behaviour which leads them to be addicted to the drug. The Incentive Salience Theory tries to help such people who are addicted to drugs and have a weak personality and behaviour. The main objective of this theory is that if people are motivated in a proper manner, then they would be able to overcome their addiction behaviour. The primary objective of Incentive Salience Theory is to change the behaviour and the attitudes of the person. It realizes that the problem of drug addiction goes much deeper and affects the cognitive development of the human being under consideration. In this regards their ability to critically analyze a particular issue and formulate a correct judgment is severely impacted. With the help of Incentive Salience Theory, this is sought to be reformed in such a manner so that people can be changed for the better.