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The science of craving
Reasons for craving
Addicts, for instance, crave drugs even after years of abstinence because addictive substances hijack the dopamine system and change it permanently.
When exposed to addictive substances like cocaine, heroin, alcohol, nicotine and even sugar, neurons are releasing more dopamine, and also growing more receptors for a transmitter that makes them release the dopamine. It is a permanent physical change.
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A new disorder
The World Health Organization officially added a new disorder to the section on substance use and addictive behaviors : “gaming disorder”
A gaming disorder is defined as an overly and uncontainable preoccupation with video games — the obsession results in significant personal, social, academic or occupational impairment for at least 12 months.
However, the idea that someone can be addicted to a behavior, as opposed to a substance, remains contentious.
The term "addiction"
Addiction can include:
- Addiction as a moral transgression, like excessive drinking or drug use.
- Addiction as a scientific disease, which characterize alcoholism and drug addiction as biological.
- Colloquial violation, which applies the term to almost any fixation.
The idea that someone can be addicted to a behavior, as opposed to a substance, remains debatable.
Arguments against gaming addiction
- Excessive gameplay is a symptom of a larger problem, like anxiety or depression.
- The fear of possible addiction arrises from moral panic about new technologies, not scientific research or clinical data.
- Making excessive gaming a disorder can harm the gaming industry by stigmatizing their products.
The first views on motivation
- At first, psychologist William James thought that only the initial act was conscious, thereafter behaviour was a spontaneous cascade of habits. He suggested we struggle with motivation when there are competing ideas.
- Sigmund Freud theorised that we are largely unconscious of what drives our behaviour.
Mathematics of motivation
When Ivan Pavlov and his dogs led to the discovery of learned behaviour through repeated exposure, and Edward Thorndike discovered the Law of Effect that stated that rewarded behaviours tended to increase, many psychologists were impelled to separate psychology from armchair introspection and formulated their theories as mathematical formulas.
- The Drive x Habit Theory. Clark Hull's formula was sEr = D x sHr, which states that excitatory tendency (E) is the result of the drive (D) combined with the habit (H). The drive is nonspecific, such as hunger or thirst. The habit, however, depends on the stimulus (s) and response (r). But the theory turned out to be wrong and even opposite in many cases.
- Expectation x Value Theory. Drawing on ideas in economics and game theory, Edward Tolman and Kurt Lewis formulated an alternative account by evaluating motivation based on expectations. Tolman expressed the ideas as the mathematical formula: Subjective Expected Utility = Probability1 * Utility1 + P2U2 + P3U3 + … where subjective expected utility of an action equalled the motivation to act. But, if you expect a reward, why act and not simply passively wait for the expected reward?
Motivation as change
Donald Hebb realised that existing theories were too focused on reacting to the immediate environment. Thoughts, ideas and goals could be just as strong for triggering action as sights and sounds.
Together with John Atkinson, they noted that the study of motivation had undergone a "paradigm shift", where motivation couldn't be seen as how actions get started, but how the organism decides to change its behaviour from one thing to another.
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Key Ideas
Health Benefits Of Music
Music has been shown to play a role in healing our bodies and increasing our health and happiness. Studies show that music relieves pain in patients, and also relieves stress and anxiety by decreasing blood pressure, steadying the heart rate, and easing stress.
Music can boost our immune system functioning by increasing the growth hormones while decreasing stress hormones. Various studies have linked music to happiness and pleasure in a variety of ways.
Limitations in the Findings About Music
- There is still ambiguity if listening to or playing the music causes the benefits.
- It is not known if stimulating or relaxing music is doing the healing.
- It is not known if the music is the person’s favourite music or of his liking, as opposed to something chosen by the experimenter.
- There are several other factors like a group playing vs individual playing of music, or a large random trial, which needs to be looked at in the future