How would a behaviorist and a psychoanalyst differ in their explanations of the causes of alcoholism?
A psychoanalyst would likely attribute alcoholism to a need to cope or forget about traumatic memories from the past. Remember, psychoanalysts are inclined to attribute behaviors to underlying needs of the subconscious. So alcoholism, which is usually seen as a coping behavior, would be likely blamed on a problem in the subconscious. A behaviorist would likely attribute alcoholism to a behavior that is reinforced by other behaviors that have a connection with heavy drinking. They would say something like, “you spend all of your time hanging out at bars, drinking with friends, and engaging in behaviors that reinforce the heavy use of alcohol.” Cognition is not necessarily important, so the behaviorist would likely focus primarily on the behaviors: avoidance of responsibilities and time spent procuring, drinking, and recovering from alcohol.
