Addiction, Motivation, and Human Behavior

For our next Psychology in Action discussion, we’ll be exploring addiction; not only substance addiction, but the broader psychology of compulsive and self-defeating behavior.
Addiction is one of the most emotionally charged and misunderstood topics in psychology. Is addiction best understood as a brain disease? A learned behavior? A response to trauma or chronic emotional pain? A disorder of motivation and self-regulation? Or are these different lenses describing different parts of the same phenomenon?
This discussion will build on some of the themes from our previous meetup on Motivational Interviewing, particularly questions involving motivation, autonomy, ambivalence, and sustainable change. To help frame the discussion, I’m recommending two relatively accessible articles and one optional video:

Recommended Reading
Scientific American — “Is Addiction a Disease?”
A thoughtful overview of competing perspectives on addiction, including the “brain disease” model and newer perspectives emphasizing learning, neuroplasticity, and motivation.
Scientific American article: “Is Addiction a Disease?”
Psychology Today — Andrew Tatarsky: “We Need to Change Our Thinking About Addiction”
An accessible introduction to a more compassionate and harm-reduction-oriented approach to addiction and behavior change.
Psychology Today article by Andrew Tatarsky

Optional Video
Gabor Maté — “The Power of Addiction and the Addiction of Power” (TEDx Talk)
In this brief and widely viewed talk, physician and author Gabor Maté argues that addiction is fundamentally rooted in attempts to cope with emotional pain and disconnection. One aspect of the talk I especially appreciate is that he broadens the discussion beyond drugs and alcohol to include socially normalized forms of compensatory striving, including pursuit of power, status, and acquisition.
Gabor Maté TEDx Talk: “The Power of Addiction and the Addiction of Power”

As always, no background in psychology is required. The goal is not debate in the adversarial sense, but thoughtful discussion and shared exploration of ideas that have important implications for mental health, relationships, education, medicine, and society more broadly.
Looking forward to the discussion.