Habits and Addictions

Raza J. Bukhari

Independent Study
Mrs. Graves
June 3, 2016

WHAT I KNEW/WANTED TO KNOW

Everyone forms habits and some even form addictions. These habits are things that we do
every day that have become a part of our lifestyle. They are a large part of everyone's life
because the things that you repeatedly do directly affect your life and your success. This topic is
extremely relevant on the personal level because it effects everyone in their everyday lives. We
all form habits and addictions, whether good or bad, and understanding why and how we develop
them can help lead to breaking bad ones more quickly. Therefore, this research directly improves
the personal lives of whoever applies it mindfully to their own life.
Like many, before researching this topic I knew basic information about habits and
addiction. Such as that habits could be either good or bad, they are formed through repetition,
and they can escalate into an addiction. When choosing a topic for this research paper I knew I
wanted to do something related to psychology, so I went back to my wild card posts to get some
ideas. The habits and addiction post stuck out to me because it was the one that I could
potentially find the most information on. My overarching question stemmed from the general
information I found in my wild card post: How do we develop habits and addictions and what
makes some people more susceptible or prone to addictions than others?
The subtopics that related back to my original question were difficult to come up with at
first. However, after a bit of preliminary research, I realized that habits and addictions flow out to
many branches of science other than just to psychology. Notably, the most related fields were

neurology, genetics, and heredity. Connections between my overarching question and other fields
of science were my main inspiration for the sub-questions.
THE SEARCH
The duration of my search lasted for about 4 weeks, however the large majority of the
research was done in the few days leading up to the due date. I started off thinking I was going to
do a post each week or more, but after the first post I let it snowball into a bulky mess that had to
be taken care of at the end. Although a lot of work was concentrated in a short time period it was
still somewhat enjoyable and a memorable experience. At the very beginning of my search I
spent most of our in class research time looking for a source that was more than just an abstract
on Google Scholar. I am a bit stubborn and picky, so I wasted a good amount of time repeating
that process until I settled for a bit less sophisticated but still informational source from The
American Society of Addiction Medicine. At this point the vocabulary was easy to understand and
gave me a good introduction to the topic because it was lengthy and in-depth. I used a few other
minor and brief sources to fill in the holes left from the first source. The ASAM source touched
on the genetic factors behind addiction which piqued my interest and led to the topic of the next
blog post.
After the first sub-question there was a bit of gap before I continued my research. This
time when I searching I was a lot more lenient towards the sources I chose, meaning they could
be less specific to my topic as long as they got the job done. An example of this is the source on
google scholar I found, The American Psychiatric Publishing Textbook of Substance Abuse
Treatment. At first it was not of much use, but one of the chapters was on the genetics of
addiction. This chapter was actually really useful for my research. The language was more
complicated than I was used to, but because of previous knowledge from my first post and taking

Magnet Biology this year I was able to manage and understand it. Another site helped sum up
some of the information and cut out the unnecessary parts.
After finding enough information on addiction I decided to move on to habits. Finding
sources were relatively easy and all of them were easy to understand because psychologists
wrote them for average people to understand and apply to their everyday life. All of the sources
for this section were very unique because the different psychologists had different ideas and
methods for helping people break bad habits and form new ones. Some of the information on
dopamine in the brain and how it relates to habit formation helped me decide on the next blog
post, Neurological Factors Behind Habits and Addiction.
By this point I had familiarized myself with the methods of researching and choosing
sources to use, so it went by fairly quickly for the next two blog posts. I was not successful in
acquiring an interview for this project partially due to my own procrastination, however there
was still time for the interviewee to reply, but they never did. Although the information I
gathered on my own was sufficient enough to complete this paper, I feel as though the interview
would have brought a more in-depth understanding of different practices used in the world of
psychology through a use of real life examples. The Search, by the end, proved to be a great
learning process for my overall researching experience.
THE RESULTS
Addiction is a chronic disease of brain reward, motivation, and memory. This is shown
when individuals pathologically (compulsively or obsessively) chase the brain reward or relief
through substance abuse and other practices.
Addiction has a negative connotation attached to it because of the severity that comes
when people are addicted to certain things i.e. alcohol, drugs, junk food. When people are

addicted they can't consistently abstain from the act they are addicted to, they may have cycles of
remission and relapse, and they can't realize how it's effecting them socially and their
relationships with other people1. Addictions can change many different aspects of peoples' lives
which can be categorized under 3 subgroups. Emotionally, addiction can increase anxiety,
dysphoria, and emotional pain. It can make it more difficult to distinguish emotions and also
increases ones susceptibility to certain stressors. Cognitively, addiction can preoccupy the mind
with thoughts of substance abuse and alter the evaluation of certain situations and problems.
Last, behaviorally they cannot recognize that they are addicted, have a lack of situational
awareness, and they only focus on the reward from the addicted behavior1. People who are
addicted can easily be identified through their symptoms: craving or compulsion to do the
activity, withdrawal when not doing the activity, and recurrent use increases exponentially in
order to achieve the first affect, tolerance2. Treatment for addiction is a combination of selfmanagement, support from friends and family, and professional help for possible medical
solutions3.
Certain people are more likely to form addictions than others because of genetics. These
genetic factors account for half of the likelihood that someone will develop an addiction1. This
doesn't mean if someone is more likely because of their genes they are an addict from birth it just
means that they should be more careful.
Substance dependence (a specific addiction pertaining to drugs) is genetically influenced.
However, genetic influence when it comes to addiction is very complex when compared to
Mendelian Genetics. Scientists will never find one gene that automatically makes someone more
likely to be addicted. It takes multiple genes which add together and make someone very
susceptible or cancel out and have little effect on the person. Not every addict has the same

addiction gene and not every person who has an addiction gene will exhibit the trait4. Some
people even have drug-resistant genes. For example, when they take a drug it could make them
feel nauseous rather than a high which would stop them from getting addicted to it. Because
genes are inherited this means that addiction will often run in the family. With advances in the
field of Genetics scientists can more easily identify specific coding in people's DNA that may
lead to increased susceptibility to addiction and eventually they may be able to develop
medications that are more effective because they are specific to someone's genetic profile5.
Addictive Personality Disorder means that someone has a personality that is more likely
to develop certain addictions. These people are predisposed to addictions and will find it easier to
become psychologically or physically addicted to substances or behaviors6. It can sometimes be
difficult to discern if someone is addicted to something or if they just have a hobby which they
choose to spend a lot of time on. A telltale sign is when they start to forego other aspects of their
life in order to focus more on the addiction. To be more specific if I like to play video games and
spend significant time on it the it's one of my hobbies. Once I start declining invitations to social
gatherings and stop normal practices of hygiene (i.e. brushing teeth and showering) just so I can
have more time for the game then, I am addicted. Someone who has a history of addictions or
has multiple addictions likely has an addictive personality7. Traits largely associated with an
addictive personality include; impulsiveness, jittery/"on edge", impatient, easily frustrated, and
may need crutches for depression and stress (which leads to addiction to the crutch).
An interesting note specifically made in the New York Times Article is that many of the
traits found in Addictive personality disorder is also found in great leaders. Risk-taking, novelty
seeking behaviors, and willingness to challenge established ideas are just a few of the important
traits of a good leader that also are traits of an addict. "So, when searching for your

organizations next leader, look for someone with an attenuated dopamine function: someone
who is never satisfied with the status quo, someone who wants the feeling of success more than
others8
Everyone forms habits. These habits are things that we do every day that have become a
part of our lifestyle. Sometimes these habits can be good and sometimes they can be bad.
Sometimes we have no idea that we have even formed these habits. However, they are a large
part of everyone's life and the things that you repeatedly do directly affect your life and your
success.
Every single habit anyone has follows the same 3 step pattern. First, the reminder, the cue
or trigger that initiates the behavior. Second, the routine, the habit itself or the action you take.
And last, the reward, benefit you gain from doing the habit. If the reward is positive people are
more likely to repeat the routine and repetition leads to habit formation9.
Many times with habits (especially bad ones) we let ourselves go into "autopilot" and
mindlessly repeat the action that we are so accustomed to doing. Sometimes this is a good thing,
however when it comes to bad habits we want to be mindful of the habit and focus on how to
avoid it and eventually break it. A solution to breaking bad habits proposed by Ryan M. Niemiec
Psy.D. is that people should first select the habit or vice. Then, consider one way they could
bring better mindfulness to the habit. In this context mindfulness means paying attention in a
particular way as if to devote 100% of your focus and thought to it. Also consider one way they
can use a personal strength to be mindful and change the way you partake in the activity Finally,
take all of the considerations above and apply the strength and mindfulness to their autopilot
activity10.

Another solution to breaking bad habits is to identify the reminder, routine, and reward of
the habit. But then, try and retain the reminder and reward but only change the routine. This is
called the Golden Rule of habit change. The only problem with this is for long-standing habits
the cue may be hard to identify because the subject has been doing something for so long they
forgot why they started to do it in the first place. Once identified, the subject must use a
competing response to the cue that replaces the old routine. This habit reversal training can be
used to treat many things such as: verbal and physical tics, depression, smoking, gambling
problems, anxiety, bedwetting, procrastination, obsessive- compulsive disorders, and other
behavioral problems11.
Habits and addictions effect the vast majority of people in the world. Sometimes habits
can lead up or develop to become an addiction however the way the brain develops them and is
affected by them is very similar. The main part of the brain that has to do with habits and
addictions is the basal ganglia. When we receive the reward from our habits it releases the
chemical dopamine in our brain which causes pleasure. This is what forces us to want to repeat
the same activity to receive the same pleasure12.
It is much easier to learn a new habit than unlearn an old one is primarily due to latent
inhibition. The brain has a learning circuit and quickly tries to help gain new information but
doesn't really have an "unlearning circuit"13. Because the brain doesn't naturally unlearn things
habits are broken in three ways. The simplest is disuse. Habits fade over time if not used. The
brain selects the most reinforced habit; so new stronger habits override older weaker ones which
is called super ceding. Lastly stopping behavior, the brain has a mechanism for suppressing an
activity once initiated. The habit is still there, but a new habit attempts to stop execution of the

previous habit, such as when you go to do something automatically, but then stop yourself
because you remember the consequences14.
The previously mentioned basal ganglia is important when it comes to habit and
addiction formation because it takes a repeated behavior and turns it into an automatic routine
that you have to think less about in order to do. It also plays a part in the development of
emotions, memories and pattern recognition. But before the basal ganglia turns a behavior into
an automatic routine the prefrontal cortex, which is charge of decision making, starts the
behavior. Once the behavior is chosen enough times the prefrontal cortex goes to sleep (not
really just when it comes to that behavior) and passes it onto the basal ganglia. Thanks to the
basal ganglia we can do a bunch of things like brushing our teeth or driving without really
thinking about it. But the downside is when we bite our nails or have late night cravings for junk
food we don't really think about it we just partake in those activities12.
MY GROWTH AS A RESEARCHER
This research project took a great amount of time and effort. It has also been the longest
thing I have worked on that I have not gotten bored with by the end. From doing this project I
have learned how to find useful sources much more quickly than before. My reading skill
improved a bit from the different types of articles and journals. This experience has not only
helped me become a better researcher and reader but it has helped me understand and get used to
time management. Huge projects or huge papers require a great deal of planning and time. I also
learned that perhaps I should narrow my overarching question slightly because the one I chose
was very broad I barely managed to scratch the surface of habit and addiction.

CITED REFERENCES (work in progress)

1. Definition of Addiction. American Society of Addiction Medicine. 2011 Apr 19 [accessed

2016 Jun 9]. http://www.asam.org/quality-practice/definition-of-addiction
2. Psychology Today. Symptoms. [accessed 2016 Jun 9].
https://www.psychologytoday.com/basics/addiction/symptoms
3. Psychology Today. Treatment. [accessed 2016 Jun 9].
https://www.psychologytoday.com/basics/addiction/treatment
4. Genetics Of Addiction. In: The American Psychiatric Publishing Textbook of Substance
Abuse. 5th ed.
5. Genes and Addiction. Genes and Addiction. [accessed 2016 Jun 9].
http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/addiction/genes/
6. Addictive personality. Wikipedia. [accessed 2016 Jun 9].
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/addictive_personality
7. Addictive Personality Disorder. Addictive Personality Disorder. [accessed 2016 Jun 9].
http://www.healthguidance.org/entry/15805/1/addictive-personality-disorder.html
8. Linden DJ. Addictive Personality? You Might be a Leader. The New York Times. 2011
[accessed 2016 Jun 9].
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/24/opinion/sunday/24addicts.html?_r=0
9. The 3 R's of Habit Change: How To Start New Habits That Actually Stick. James Clear.
2013 [accessed 2016 Jun 9]. http://jamesclear.com/three-steps-habit-change
10. From Mindless to Mindful. Psychology Today. [accessed 2016 Jun 9].
https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/what-matters-most/201308/mindless-mindful
11. The Golden Rule of Habit Change | World of Psychology. World of Psychology. 2012
[accessed 2016 Jun 9]. http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2012/07/17/the-golden-ruleof-habit-change/
12. The Brain Science Behind Addiction and Habit. The Brain Science Behind Addiction and
Habit. [accessed 2016 Jun 9].

https://www.psychotherapynetworker.org/blog/details/569/the-brain-science-behindaddiction-and-habit
13. Latent inhibition. Wikipedia. [accessed 2016 Jun 9].
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/latent_inhibition
14. King P. What are the neurological mechanisms of habit change? Quora . 2014 Jun 2
[accessed 2016 Jun 9]. https://www.quora.com/what-are-the-neurological-mechanismsof-habit-change