Choice, Behavioural Economics and Addiction - read free eBook in online reader or directly download on the web page. Select files or add your book in reader. Download and read online ebook Choice, Behavioural Economics and Addiction write by Nick Heather. This book was released on 2003-11-13. Choice, Behavioural Economics and Addiction available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Choice, Behavioural Economics and Addiction is about the theory, data, and applied implications of choice-based models of substance use and addiction. The distinction between substance use and addiction is important, because many individuals use substances but are not also addicted to them. The behavioural economic perspective has made contributions to the analysis of both of these phenomena and, while the major focus of the book is on theories of addiction, it is necessary also to consider the behavioural economic account of substance use in order to place the theories in their proper context and provide full coverage of the contribution of behavioural economics to this field of study. The book discusses the four major theories of addiction that have been developed in the area of economic science/behavioural economics. They are: • hyperbolic discounting • melioration • relative addiction • rational addiction The main objective of the book is to popularise these ideas among addiction researchers, academics and practitioners. The specific aims are to articulate the shared and distinctive elements of these four theories, to present and discuss the latest empirical work on substance abuse and addiction that is being conducted in this area, and to articulate a range of applied implications of this body of work for clinical, public health and public policy initiatives. The book is based on an invitation-only conference entitled, Choice, Behavioural Economics and Addiction: Theory, Evidence and Applications held at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, March 30 - April 1, 2001. The conference was attended by prominent scientists and scholars, representing a range of disciplines concerned with theories of addiction and their consequences for policy and practice. The papers in the book are based on the papers given at the above conference, together with commentaries by distinguished experts and, in many cases, replies to these comments by the presenters.
Addiction
Addiction - read free eBook in online reader or directly download on the web page. Select files or add your book in reader. Download and read online ebook Addiction write by Shahram Heshmat. This book was released on 2015-05-22. Addiction available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Addiction: A Behavioral Economic Perspective focuses on the behavioral economics of addiction to explain why someone decides and act against her own well-being. It answers the questions of what accounts for self-defeating behavior patterns and how do we best motivate individuals to act according with their long-term goals. A better understanding of decision processes will lead to an improved knowledge of why people engage in self-destructive behaviors and better policy interventions in areas of addiction and obesity. The approach also promises to be valuable as a framework for understanding decisions for an addict’s professional and business life. This book will be of particular use to clinicians, students, and researchers in the fields of addiction, public health, and behavior therapy.
Behavioral Economics, Neurophysiology, Addiction and the Law
Behavioral Economics, Neurophysiology, Addiction and the Law - read free eBook in online reader or directly download on the web page. Select files or add your book in reader. Download and read online ebook Behavioral Economics, Neurophysiology, Addiction and the Law write by Michael Louis Corrado. This book was released on 2010. Behavioral Economics, Neurophysiology, Addiction and the Law available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Has science anything to tell us about responsibility? Addiction is a particularly interesting test case. Two fields of science, behavioral economics and neurophysiology have lately given us a great deal of information about addiction, much of which may be useful to the law. When it comes to addiction, unfortunately, the two fields seem to point in opposite directions. Economics has provided us with models of addictive behavior based upon the supposition that addiction is the result of choice, a development that appears to support the conclusion that addictive behavior is not the product of "non-volitional forces." If addictive behavior can be fully accounted for in terms of the addict's choices, and if there is no need to postulate the existence of forces overwhelming the addict's will, is there any reason not to hold the addict fully responsible for what he does? Neurophysiology, on the other hand, has demonstrated that substance abuse causes significant changes in brain physiology, which appears to support the conclusion that addiction is a disease. If addiction corresponds to physical changes in the nervous system, then addiction is a disease, and addictive behavior is merely a symptom of the disease. We may be responsible for contracting a disease, but can we be held responsible for the symptoms once we have it? Science does have a good many things to tell us about addiction, but so far whether or not the addict is responsible for what he does is not among them. The fact that choice theories - rational addiction, behavioral economics - can develop models in which addiction is the result of choice should not surprise us: Did anyone ever believe that addicts did not intend to do what they were doing? Did anyone ever believe that addicts did not choose to do what they did? The question has always been whether those choices were free, and whether the addict was fully in control of his choices. That is the question that the law must deal with, and in this paper I argue that choice theories have nothing to say to that question. Neurophysiology, on the other hand, has made remarkable strides in tracing down the effects of heavy drug use on the brain. But that behavior should effect brain changes is not by itself remarkable, and does not entail that behavior is not fully voluntary. There are three possible conclusions. The first is that although science has yielded no results so far, we may hope for results in the future. The general nature of the arguments against drawing conclusions about responsibility from the existing literature makes that, if not entirely a vain hope, at least implausible. The second is that responsibility is simply one of the areas of human experience that is cut off from science; there must, therefore, be other ways of knowing what we do about addiction, control, and responsibility. And the third conclusion may be the most pessimistic of all, namely that responsibility itself is a confused notion, and that we should be skeptical about its role in the law.
Addiction
Addiction - read free eBook in online reader or directly download on the web page. Select files or add your book in reader. Download and read online ebook Addiction write by Gene M. Heyman. This book was released on 2010-10-15. Addiction available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. In a book sure to inspire controversy, Gene Heyman argues that conventional wisdom about addictionÑthat it is a disease, a compulsion beyond conscious controlÑis wrong. Drawing on psychiatric epidemiology, addictsÕ autobiographies, treatment studies, and advances in behavioral economics, Heyman makes a powerful case that addiction is voluntary. He shows that drug use, like all choices, is influenced by preferences and goals. But just as there are successful dieters, there are successful ex-addicts. In fact, addiction is the psychiatric disorder with the highest rate of recovery. But what ends an addiction? At the heart of HeymanÕs analysis is a startling view of choice and motivation that applies to all choices, not just the choice to use drugs. The conditions that promote quitting a drug addiction include new information, cultural values, and, of course, the costs and benefits of further drug use. Most of us avoid becoming drug dependent, not because we are especially rational, but because we loathe the idea of being an addict. HeymanÕs analysis of well-established but frequently ignored research leads to unexpected insights into how we make choicesÑfrom obesity to McMansionizationÑall rooted in our deep-seated tendency to consume too much of whatever we like best. As wealth increases and technology advances, the dilemma posed by addictive drugs spreads to new products. However, this remarkable and radical book points to a solution. If drug addicts typically beat addiction, then non-addicts can learn to control their natural tendency to take too much.
Behavioral Economics and Healthy Behaviors
Behavioral Economics and Healthy Behaviors - read free eBook in online reader or directly download on the web page. Select files or add your book in reader. Download and read online ebook Behavioral Economics and Healthy Behaviors write by Yaniv Hanoch. This book was released on 2017-05-18. Behavioral Economics and Healthy Behaviors available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. The field of behavioural economics can tell us a great deal about cognitive bias and unconscious decision-making, challenging the orthodox economic model whereby consumers make rational and informed choices. But it is in the arena of health that it perhaps offers individuals and governments the most value. In this important new book, the most pernicious health issues we face today are examined through a behavioral economic lens. It provides an essential and timely overview of how this growing field of study can reframe and offer solutions to some of the biggest health issues of our age. The book opens with an overview of the core theoretical concepts, after which each chapter assesses how behavioral economic research and practice can inform public policy across a range of health issues. Including chapters on tobacco, alcohol and drug use, physical activity, dietary intake, cancer screening and sexual health, the book integrates the key insights from the field to both developed and developing nations. Also asking important ethical questions around paternalism and informed choice, this book will be essential reading for students and researchers across psychology, economics and business and management, as well as public health professionals wishing for a concise overview of the role behavioral economics can potentially play in allowing people to live healthier lives.
