ArticleJournal of the experimental analysis of behavior2020
A Reinforcer Pathology perspective on relapse.
Article in Journal of the experimental analysis of behavior, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 19 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
19 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Neuroscience-informed classification of prevention interventions in substance use disorders: An RDoC-based approach.Neuroscience and biobehavioral reviews · 2024Pooled it
- Engagement in alcohol-free activities, community-level economic disadvantage, and heavy drinking following alcohol treatment.Journal of the experimental analysis of behavior · 2026Trial
- Modeling the effect of stress on vaping behavior among young adults: A randomized cross-over pilot study.Drug and alcohol dependence · 2021Trial
- Applying the reinforcer pathology model to alcohol use and suicide risk: An initial test.Journal of the experimental analysis of behavior · 2026Article
- Hypothetical food purchase tasks and eating behavior: A systematized review and future directions.Journal of the experimental analysis of behavior · 2026Review
- The phenotype of recovery XII: A reinforcer pathology perspective on associations between delay discounting and pain catastrophizing in substance use disorder recovery.Journal of substance use and addiction treatment · 2025Article
- Acute Stress Effect on Delay Discounting and Cannabis Demand Among Individuals Endorsing High-Frequency Cannabis Use.Cannabis (Albuquerque, N.M.) · 2025Article
- Contextual and psychosocial factors influencing drug reward in humans: The importance of non-drug reinforcement.Pharmacology, biochemistry, and behavior · 2024Review
- A brief measure of non-drug reinforcement: Association with treatment outcomes during initial substance use recovery.Drug and alcohol dependence · 2024Article
- The Phenotype of Recovery X: Associations between delay discounting, regulatory flexibility, and remission from substance use disorder.Journal of substance use and addiction treatment · 2023Article
- Dissociation and other trauma symptomatology are linked to imbalance in the competing neurobehavioral decision systems.Frontiers in psychology · 2023Article
- Putting prospection into practice: Methodological considerations in the use of episodic future thinking to reduce delay discounting and maladaptive health behaviors.Frontiers in public health · 2022Review
- Reinforcer pathology's alternative reinforcer hypothesis: A preliminary examination.Health psychology : official journal of the Division of Health Psychology, American Psychological Association · 2021Article
- The Influence of Episodic Future Thinking and Graphic Warning Labels on Delay Discounting and Cigarette Demand.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Article
- No evidence of the clinical utility of single-item breakpoint to inform on tobacco demand in persons with substance use disorders.Psychopharmacology · 2021Article
- The phenotype of recovery V: Does delay discounting predict the perceived risk of relapse among individuals in recovery from alcohol and drug use disorders.Alcoholism, clinical and experimental research · 2021Article
- Evaluating effects of episodic future thinking on valuation of delayed reward in cocaine use disorder: a pilot study.The American journal of drug and alcohol abuse · 2021Article
- Imagining the Future to Reshape the Past: A Path to Combine Cue Extinction and Memory Reconsolidation With Episodic Foresight for Addiction Treatment.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2021Article
- Reinforcer pathology II: Reward magnitude, reward delay, and demand for alcohol collectively relate to college students' alcohol related problems.Journal of the experimental analysis of behavior · 2020Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors.
Funding
Abstract
The Reinforcer Pathology theory proposes conditions under which drugs emerge as excessively preferred reinforcers compared to other available reinforcers among drug users. The theory highlights 2 key variables as important determinants of drug preference: (a) excessive preference for immediate rewards (high discounting of future rewards); and (b) excessive valuation for addictive reinforcers (e.g., drugs). Two iterations of the Reinforcer Pathology theory exist with the latest iteration (i.e., Reinforcer Pathology 2.0) specifying that the temporal window of reinforcer integration (measured by delay discounting) is a determinant of reinforcer value. The 2 iterations of the Reinforcer Pathology theory are described. A novel insight and understanding of abstinence and relapse from a Reinforcer Pathology perspective, limitations, and future directions are discussed. The Reinforcer Pathology theory continues the long-standing efforts to scientifically understand and better define novel concepts and methods to further translational research and improve treatment outcomes. Exploring the complementary relation between the Reinforcer Pathology perspective and other current approaches could have a valuable effect.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.