Operant Conditioning and Drug Overdose and Tolerance

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Operant Conditioning

Operant conditioning is based on a cause-effect relationship such that a certain behaviour is either encouraged or discouraged depending on the consequences tied to it (Silverman et al., 2019). In line with this, individuals tend to use drugs mainly because of the rewarding pleasure and enjoyment associated with drug use. The principle of operant conditioning highlights the notion that behaviours are learnt but some learnt behaviours are reinforced by the rewards drawn from the behaviour (Cabanero et al., 2022). Similarly, individuals who have a great experience with drugs the first time that they use it are more likely to use the drug again and this means that their drug use behaviour is reinforced and strengthened with time. In essence, drugs are more of primary reinforcers of a given behaviour mainly because of the intrinsic nature of the rewards tied to it. Therefore, the consistent use of drugs eventually leads to drug dependence, drug tolerance, and addiction.The concept of drug tolerance develops from dependence (Silverman et al., 2019). From the principle of operant conditioning, once the drug use behaviour is reinforced then individuals become dependent on the drug (Silverman et al., 2019). Drug dependent people develop different levels of tolerance to drugs, and this means that they have to increase their drug doses in order for them to get the desired effect. There is a constant effect produced from using a certain drug dose. However, the effects produced from the given dose reduces with time and this prompts individuals to increase the given dose for them to get the desired effect. Ultimately, a high drug tolerance increases the risk of addiction.Immediacy and contingency are important aspects that explain a drug users’ path to addiction. Immediacy is tied to the notion that people often desire a quick response each time they use a given drug (Bergman et al., 2019). Therefore, if an immediate response is guaranteed, then the drug use behaviour is effectively reinforced. On the other hand, contingency leads to drug conditioning in that, the desired response becomes more predictable, and this makes users consume the drug more often since the desired response over time eventually leads to drug overdose.

• Operant Conditioning and Drug Overdose and Tolerance