TABLE 2Addiction Components

ComponentCharacteristics
SalienceWhen the particular activity becomes the most important activity in the person's life and dominates their thinking, feelings, and behavior
Mood modificationThe subjective experience that people report as a consequence of engaging in the particular activity
ToleranceThe process whereby increasing amounts of the particular activity are required to achieve the former effects
WithdrawalThe unpleasant feeling states and/or physical effects that occur when the particular activity is discontinued or suddenly reduced
ConflictConflicts between the addict and those around them (interpersonal conflict) or from within the individual himself/herself (intrapsychic conflict) about the particular activity
RelapseThe tendency for repeated reversions to earlier patterns of the particular activity to recur and for even the most extreme patterns typical of the height of the addiction to be quickly restored after many years of abstinence or control

SOURCE: Griffiths presentation, November 16, 2014; adapted from Griffiths, 2005.

From: The Neuroscience of Gaming

Cover of The Neuroscience of Gaming
The Neuroscience of Gaming: Workshop in Brief.
Institute of Medicine.
Washington (DC): National Academies Press (US); 2015 Feb 17.
Copyright 2015 by the National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.

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