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psychological dependence

1. reliance on a psychoactive substance for its pleasurable effects. The dependence is signaled by a high rate of drug use, drug craving, and the tendency to relapse after cessation of use. Many believe that stimulation of the brain’s reward system is the driving force behind drug addiction and that tolerance and physical dependence may not be central to the development of dependency-inducing patterns of drug use.

2. reliance on others for emotional support, often characterized as an excessive need for their guidance, reassurance, and validation.

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Psychology term of the day

February 23rd 2025

inbreeding

inbreeding

n. the mating of individuals that are closely related. Inbreeding increases the risk of perpetuating certain genetic defects in the family, as in consanguineous marriages. Inbreeding within small populations, such as geographically isolated populations, leads to increased frequency of particular mutations within such groups. This fact has been used to demonstrate the founder effect for certain cancers and other disorders. Inbreeding studies have contributed to efforts to identify and test for mutations predisposing to disease in some groups of people. Compare outbreeding.