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Mark Griffiths: Mark Griffiths is Senior Lecturer in Psychology at Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham, UK
Introduction
For many people the concept of addiction involves taking of drugs (e.g. Rachlin, 1990; Walker, 1989). Therefore it is perhaps unsurprising that most official definitions concentrate on drug ingestion. This is highlighted by the following definitions:"
Addiction is the compulsive uncontrolled use of habit-forming drugs (Webster's New International Dictionary, 3rd edition).
An addict is a person addicted to a habit, especially one dependent on a (specified) drug (Concise Oxford Dictionary).
An addict is one who habitually uses and has an uncontrollable craving for an addictive drug (Webster's New International Dictionary, 3rd edition).
Addiction is a state of periodic or chronic intoxication produced by repeated consumption of a drug, natural or synthetic (World Health Organization)."
Despite such definitions, there is now a growing movement (e.g. Miller, 1980; Orford, 1985) which views a number of behaviours as potentially addictive, including many behaviours which do not involve the ingestion of a drug. These include behaviours diverse as gambling (Griffiths, 1995), overeating (Orford, 1985), sex (Carnes, 1983), exercise (Glasser, 1976), computer game playing (Griffiths, 1993a), pair bonding (Peele and Brodsky,1975), wealth acquisition (Slater, 1980) and even Rubik's Cube (Alexander, 1981)! Such diversity has led to new all-encompassing definitions of what constitutes addictive behaviour. One such definition is that of Marlatt et al. (1988, p. 224) who define addictive behaviour as:"
... a repetitive habit pattern that increases the risk of disease and/or associated personal and social problems. Addictive behaviours are often experienced subjectively as "loss of control" - the behaviour contrives to occur despite volitional attempts to abstain or moderate use. These habit patterns are typically characterized by immediate gratification (short-term reward), often coupled with delayed deleterious effects (long-term costs). Attempts to change an addictive behaviour (via treatment or self-initiation) are typically marked with high relapse rates."
Most people have their own idea or some common-sense intuitive component about what "addiction" constitutes but actually trying to define it becomes difficult. Defining "addiction" is rather like defining a "mountain" or "tree", i.e. there is no single set of criteria that can ever be necessary or sufficient to define all instances. In essence, the whole is easier to recognize than the parts. The way of...