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Addiction, Personality and Motivation
Author(s) -
EYSENCK H. J.
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
human psychopharmacology: clinical and experimental
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.461
H-Index - 78
eISSN - 1099-1077
pISSN - 0885-6222
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1099-1077(199706)12:2+<s79::aid-hup905>3.0.co;2-t
Subject(s) - psychology , personality , addiction , social psychology , psychiatry
It is suggested that addictive behaviour, so called, fits into a psychological resource model. In other words, the habits in question are acquired because they serve a useful function for the individual, and the nature of the functions they fulfil is related to the personality profile of the ‘addict’. For some people this resource function develops into a form of addiction, and it is suggested that the reason this occurs is related to excessive dopamine functioning . This in turn is used to suggest the nature of the addictive personality . Excessive dopamine functioning is related to the personality dimension of psychoticism , and evidence is cited to the effect that psychoticism is closely related to a large number of addictions. The precise reasons for the addictive effects of dopamine are still being debated, but clearly there is a causal chain linking personality and biological factors together in the production of addictive behaviour. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.