Sated drug addicts who have just had a hit, underestimate the influence their craving will have on them in the future, researchers have shown. The finding echoes similar research showing that when we're in a satisfied state we underestimate the motivational force of hunger, thirst and sexual desire.
"Our results suggest that addicts under-appreciate the effects of deprivation when they are not actually deprived", the researchers said. This tendency to underestimate the power of craving could help explain why people start to take drugs which they've been warned will be highly addictive.
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Badger, G.J., Bickel, W.K., Giordano, L.A., Jacobs, E.A., Loewenstein, G. &
Marsch, L. (2007). Altered states: The impact of immediate craving on the
valuation of current and future opioids. Journal of Health Economics, In
Press. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jhealeco.2007.01.002
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