Kumulative Dissertation, Universität Bamberg, 2024

Von der genannten Lizenzangabe ausgenommen sind folgende Bestandteile dieser Dissertation:
Die Artikel "The effect of individual differences on Pavlovian conditioning in specific Internet-use disorders" (S. 116-155), "Does acute stress influence the Pavlovian-to-instrumental transfer effect? Implications for substance use disorders" (S. 157-168) und "The effects of a retrieval cue on renewal of conditioned responses in human appetitive conditioning" (S. 182-194) stehen unter der CC-Lizenz CC BY.

Lizenzvertrag: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Learning theory has a rich history and long-standing tradition as an explanatory framework in behavioral science. Appetitive learning refers to the processes by which organisms learn associations between certain stimuli, behaviors, and rewards or positive outcomes. Together with neuroscientific models, appetitive learning provides a solid framework for understanding compulsive reward-seeking behaviors, also termed addictive behaviors. This dissertation aims to comprehensively investigate various aspects of appetitive learning mechanisms in human subjects using an experimental psychopathology approach. Four empirical studies underscore the significance of these mechanisms in the development, maintenance, and treatment of addictive behaviors and disorders. Study 1 examined the etiology of addictive disorders, finding that personality traits and characteristics linked to specific online behaviors significantly predicted conditioned emotional responses in the context of Internet-use disorders. Study 2 explored the maintenance of addictive behaviors and disorders, finding no evidence that acute stress exacerbated cue-induced instrumental responding for drug-associated rewards. Addressing potential sources of relapse, Study 3 demonstrated the occurrence of spontaneous recovery, thus challenging the long-term effectiveness of extinction-based therapies for addictive disorders. Additionally, predictors of this spontaneous recovery were investigated. Finally, Study 4 examined the effects of retrieval cues on the renewal of conditioned responses and found evidence that this strategy may potentially enhance the long-term effectiveness of extinction-based therapies. Together, the findings underscore the complex role of stress and conditioning in addictive behaviors and disorders, highlight the need to investigate individual differences in addiction-related learning processes and to use insights from modern learning theory to optimize cue exposure therapy for addictive disorders. Strengths of this dissertation include its comprehensive approach to understanding appetitive learning mechanisms in the context of addictive behaviors and disorders and the use of rigorous experimental methodology. However, limitations include the challenge of generalizing findings to broader populations. Implications for further theoretical and clinical research are derived from the results and limitations. Overall, this research contributes to a deeper understanding of the learning processes in addictive behaviors and provides a foundation for the development of more precise and effective prevention and treatment strategies.