Lesson 4.3.10.2

4.3.10.2 Explanations for nicotine addiction Quiz: AQA Psychology, Unit 3

20 questions

Written by Revision Ninja · Last reviewed 11 October 2026

In partnership with Revision Ninja

Lesson 4.3.10.2, Explanations for nicotine addiction: 20 multiple choice questions for the AQA Psychology (7182), Unit 3: Issues and options in Psychology, written with Revision Ninja.

Host it live on the board and students join with a game code on their own devices, or revise alone with Free Play. The answers are revealed in the game.

Host this setFree Play

The 20 questions

  1. Which neurotransmitter plays the primary role in the brain reward pathway activated by nicotine?

    • Serotonin
    • Dopamine
    • Glutamate
    • GABA

  2. Which brain region is part of the mesolimbic reward pathway linked to nicotine's effects?

    • The nucleus accumbens
    • The medulla oblongata
    • The occipital lobe
    • The spinal cord

  3. Which learning process explains how secondary cues like lighter sounds become associated with smoking?

    • Operant conditioning
    • Cognitive bias
    • Social learning
    • Classical conditioning

  4. What term describes physiological arousal and cravings triggered by environment-associated smoking cues?

    • Cue reactivity
    • Cognitive bias
    • Partial reinforcement
    • Tolerance

  5. Smoking to avoid or relieve unpleasant withdrawal symptoms maintains addiction through which process?

    • Positive reinforcement
    • Vicarious reinforcement
    • Negative reinforcement
    • Classical conditioning

  6. Nicotine binds specifically to which type of brain receptors in the ventral tegmental area?

    • Nicotinic acetylcholine receptors
    • Dopamine D2 receptors
    • Serotonin receptors
    • GABA receptors

  7. A smoker experiencing strong cravings when drinking coffee is demonstrating which learning phenomenon?

    • Cognitive bias
    • Variable reinforcement
    • Cue reactivity
    • Negative reinforcement

  8. Which type of reductionism is criticised in neurochemical explanations of nicotine addiction?

    • Biological reductionism
    • Machine reductionism
    • Environmental reductionism
    • Methodological reductionism

  9. What is a key limitation of explaining nicotine addiction solely through learning theory?

    • Ignores neurochemical mechanisms
    • Cannot explain cues
    • Overemphasises genetic causes
    • Lacks experimental validity

  10. Increased dopamine release triggered by learned smoking-related stimuli is an example of what?

    • Cognitive bias
    • Cue reactivity
    • Negative reinforcement
    • Vicarious reinforcement

  11. Smoking to relieve unpleasant withdrawal symptoms is an example of which type of reinforcement?

    • Vicarious reinforcement
    • Negative reinforcement
    • Partial reinforcement
    • Positive reinforcement

  12. According to operant conditioning, what type of reinforcement occurs when smoking produces pleasurable feelings?

    • Positive reinforcement
    • Negative reinforcement
    • Vicarious reinforcement
    • Continuous reinforcement

  13. A smoker who wants to quit is told that cues in their environment will continue to trigger cravings. Which concept is being described?

    • Taste aversion
    • Neophobia
    • Fixed action pattern
    • Cue reactivity

  14. What process describes the reduction in smoking craving when cues are repeatedly presented without nicotine?

    • Habituation
    • Extinction
    • Spontaneous recovery
    • Generalisation

  15. Which neurotransmitter plays a central role in the brain reward neurochemistry of nicotine addiction?

    • Serotonin
    • Dopamine
    • GABA
    • Acetylcholine

  16. A smoker who lit cigarettes only when seeing friends smoking is primarily demonstrating which concept?

    • Social learning
    • Withdrawal syndrome
    • Genetic vulnerability
    • Tolerance

  17. What term describes needing larger doses of nicotine over time to achieve the same effect?

    • Withdrawal
    • Tolerance
    • Sensitisation
    • Dependence

  18. In nicotine addiction, dopamine release acts as a primary reward, causing operant conditioning through what?

    • Aversive conditioning
    • Positive reinforcement
    • Negative reinforcement
    • Cognitive bias

  19. In which brain region does nicotine stimulate dopamine release to activate the reward pathway?

    • Amygdala
    • Hippocampus
    • Nucleus accumbens
    • Prefrontal cortex

  20. What unconditioned unpleasant state is removed when a smoker lights a cigarette to reduce irritability?

    • Psychological dependence
    • Tolerance
    • Cue reactivity
    • Withdrawal syndrome

All AQA Psychology quizzes