Marcus has been smoking cigarettes for five years and now smokes around twenty a day. He explains that his first cigarette of the morning is essential because it instantly makes him feel alert, clear-headed, and relieves the tension he feels upon waking. Initially, Marcus only smoked socially on weekends, but he soon found that he needed to smoke throughout the day to get the same feeling of relaxation and focus. If he tries to stop smoking for more than a few hours, he becomes highly agitated, anxious, and suffers from intense cravings.
Evaluate the neurochemical explanation of nicotine addiction. Refer to Marcus's case in your answer.
Practise Edexcel A Level Psychology Content with exam-style questions for A Level Psychology. 100 questions covering Main features of classical conditioning, Pavlov (1927) salivation in dogs, Main features of operant conditioning, Properties of reinforcement, Behaviour modification and shaping, Main features of social learning theory, Social learning stages, Bandura (1961, 1963) Bobo doll experiments, Bandura (1965) vicarious reinforcement, Learning theories and phobias, Treatments for phobias, Individual differences, and Developmental psychology, matched to the Edexcel A Level Psychology (9PS0) specification and written in Paper 1, Paper 2 and Paper 3 style. Every question includes a full worked solution and mark scheme, so you can see where marks are awarded rather than just whether you got the answer right.