About the lecture

In this lecture, we continue the discussion of factors influencing who becomes addicted, focusing in particular on: (i) the two primary external factors of family and peer influences; (ii) outlining family influences as coming in a variety forms, exploring the two primary mechanisms of behaviour modelling and addictive substance availability; (ii) peer influences, an external factor often taking centre stage during talks on drug use, abuse and addiction; (iv) the doubling effect of particular personality types, the example given being that an impulsive individual who may already be more prone to developing an addiction is also more likely to have impulsive friends, who could increase the likelihood further.

About the lecturer

Marcus Munafò is a professor of biological psychology and associate pro vice-chancellor of research culture at the University of Bristol. Professor Munafò’s research is focused on understanding health behaviours related to tobacco and alcohol use, informing current debates on tobacco product packaging. With experience in an array of research methods, one of Professor Munafò’s other interests is in whether participant incentives in scientific experiments provide an optimal level of robustness and reproducibility. Some of Professor Munafò’s recent publications include ‘Acceptability of integrating smoking cessation treatment into routine care for people with mental illness’ (2022) and ‘Applying Mendelian randomization to appraise causality in relationships between nutrition and cancer’ (2022).