Key term
AQA A-Level Psychology 7182
Social Influence
Memory
Attachment
Topic overviewCaregiver-infant interactions: reciprocity and interactional synchronySchaffer's stages of attachmentMultiple attachments and the role of the fatherAnimal studies of attachmentExplanations of attachmentAinsworth's Strange Situation and types of attachmentBowlby's theory of maternal deprivation and effects of institutionalisationInfluence of early attachment on relationshipsCultural variations in attachment
Approaches in Psychology
Biopsychology
Topic overviewDivisions of the nervous systemStructure and function of neurons and synaptic transmissionThe endocrine systemThe fight or flight responseWays of studying the brainLocalisation of function and hemispheric lateralisationPlasticity and functional recovery of the brain after traumaBiological rhythms: circadian, infradian and ultradian
Clinical Psychology and Mental Health
Research Methods
Scientific Processes
Topic overviewAims and hypothesesSamplingPilot studiesExperimental designsObservational designQuestionnaire construction and design of interviewsVariablesControlDemand characteristics and investigator effectsEthicsPeer reviewImplications of psychological research for the economyReliabilityValidityFeatures of scienceReporting psychological investigations
Quantitative and Qualitative Data
Topic overviewQuantitative and qualitative data; the distinction between qualitative and quantitative data collection techniquesPrimary and secondary data, including meta-analysisDescriptive statistics: measures of central tendency and measures of dispersionPresentation and display of quantitative data: graphs, tables, scattergrams, bar chartsDistributions: normal and skewed distributionsIntroduction to statistical testing; the sign test
Data Handling and Analysis
Inferential Testing
Issues and Debates in Psychology
RelationshipsOption 1
GenderOption 1
Cognition and DevelopmentOption 1
SchizophreniaOption 2
Eating BehaviourOption 2
StressOption 2
AggressionOption 3
Forensic PsychologyOption 3
AddictionOption 3
Explanations for Nicotine AddictionOption 3
Explanations for Nicotine Addiction
- 2 subtopics
- 12 things to know
- Paper 3
- Paper 3, one topic chosen from the third option block
What Explanations for Nicotine Addiction covers
Explanations for Nicotine Addiction sits within the Addiction option for Paper 3. It covers the neurochemical account of what nicotine does in the brain, and the learning account of how smoking behaviour is acquired and maintained by the cues surrounding it.
The 2 subtopics
Each one has its own page.
- Brain neurochemistry, including the role of dopamineThe receptors nicotine binds to, the dopamine response in the reward pathway, how tolerance develops, and why stopping produces withdrawal.Open →
- Learning theory as applied to nicotine addiction, including reference to cue reactivityClassical conditioning of smoking cues, operant conditioning of the behaviour itself, cue reactivity, and why cravings can return long after stopping.Open →
What you need to know
Answer each one before you reveal it.
Your recallNot started
Process
What happens in the brain when nicotine reaches the ventral tegmental area?
Process
How does tolerance to nicotine develop?
Process
Why does stopping nicotine produce withdrawal symptoms?
Numbers
How fast does inhaled nicotine reach the brain?
Process
How does classical conditioning explain smoking cues?
Process
How does operant conditioning maintain smoking behaviour?
Key term
Define cue reactivity in nicotine addiction.
Process
Why can cravings return years after someone stops smoking?
Process
How does social learning theory explain the start of smoking?
Key term
What are secondary reinforcers in nicotine addiction?
Process
What do classical and operant conditioning each explain about smoking?
Take Explanations for Nicotine Addiction further
The same content, four other ways.
Commonly confused
Pairs that lose marks when they are blurred together.
Desensitisation vs Upregulation
Desensitisation: receptors becoming less responsive after repeated exposure. Upregulation: an increase in the number of receptors the brain produces.
Ventral tegmental area vs Nucleus accumbens
Ventral tegmental area: the source of the dopamine-releasing neurons that nicotine stimulates. Nucleus accumbens: the reward-pathway structure that dopamine is released into.
Unconditioned response vs Conditioned response
Unconditioned response: pleasure produced by nicotine before any learning has taken place. Conditioned response: craving produced by a cue that has been paired with nicotine.
Questions from this topic
Each one with the model answer underneath.
- 1
What type of receptors does nicotine bind to in the brain?
Model answer
Nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) located on neurons in the brain.
- 2
In which two brain regions are nicotinic acetylcholine receptors found in particularly high concentrations?
Model answer
The ventral tegmental area (VTA) and the nucleus accumbens.
- 3
What happens when nicotine binds to nAChRs on dopaminergic neurons in the VTA?
Model answer
The dopaminergic neurons fire and release dopamine.
- 4
Where is dopamine released to when VTA neurons are stimulated by nicotine?
Model answer
Into the nucleus accumbens, which is part of the brain's reward pathway.
- 5
What is the mesolimbic dopamine pathway and what does it connect?
Model answer
It is a neural pathway connecting the VTA to the nucleus accumbens, and it is central to reward and reinforcement.
- 6
How does dopamine release in the nucleus accumbens contribute to nicotine addiction?
Model answer
It produces feelings of pleasure and reward, which reinforces smoking behaviour.
What is inside Levo
Six ways to work the same material.
Explanations for Nicotine Addiction revision questions
- What does Explanations for Nicotine Addiction cover in AQA A-Level Psychology?
- 2 subtopics: brain neurochemistry, including the role of dopamine and learning theory as applied to nicotine addiction, including reference to cue reactivity. Each one has its own page with questions and model answers.
- How is Explanations for Nicotine Addiction organised?
- By the AQA 7182 specification, subtopic by subtopic, so it matches the order you are taught it in.
Every question in Explanations for Nicotine Addiction, on a schedule.
Attempt a question from memory, write the correct version, then attempt it again. Levo records the jump between your first attempt and your last, and brings each question back on the day you are due to forget it.
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