biology

Reward dependence

Reward dependence is a biology topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Reward dependence rather than just read about it. In short: Reward dependence (RD) is characterized as a tendency to respond markedly to signals of reward, particularly to verbal signals of social approval, social support, and sentiment. When reward dependence levels deviate from normal we see the rise of several personality and addictive disorders.

Key takeaways

Reward dependence belongs to biology; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Reward dependence to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Reward dependence from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Reward dependence (RD) is characterized as a tendency to respond markedly to signals of reward, particularly to verbal signals of social approval, social support, and sentiment. When reward dependence levels deviate from normal we see the rise of several personality and addictive disorders.

In psychology, reward dependence is considered a moderately heritable personality trait which is stable throughout our lives. It is an inherited neurophysiological mechanism that drives our perception of our society and the environment. Even though we are born with these personality traits, their expression during our life span can be modulated throughout our development.

Origin and definitions Reward dependence is one of the temperament dimensions from the "tridimensional personality theory", which was proposed by C. Robert Cloninger as part of his "unified bio-social theory of personality". His personality theory suggested the hypothesis that specific neurochemical transmitters in our brain determine how we respond to a specific stimulus we may experience. These innate personality traits can play a significant role not only in an individual's predisposition to certain disorders, but also in their maintenance of those disorders. By understanding the specific temperamental traits that are common among individuals with specific disorders, clinicians can form a more targeted, informed approach to treatment and look to newer psychotherapies for guidance. The relationship between temperament and individual clusters of DSM personality disorders is often investigated. According to the DSM-IV, the tridimensional structure allows up to nine major personality disorders to be identified, the theory thereby making a great contribution to the understanding of psychiatric disorders.

Cloninger's Tridimension Personality Theory and reward dependence

Cloninger's tridimensional personality theory offers three independent "temperament" dimensions which aid in measuring how different individuals feel or behave. Reward Dependence (RD) is one of the three temperament dimensions, the other two being "Harm Avoidance (HA)" and "Novelty Seeking (NS)". A temperament, according to Cloninger, is the automatic emotional response to experience. Cloninger suggested that RD is influenced by a single monoamine neurotransmitter system: the noradrenergic system and RD is correlated with low basal noradrenergic activity. This suggestion has led to several research experiments that have investigated and supported his hypothesis, that RD traits are indeed in part determined by norepinephrine. Measure of the RD dimension, as suggested by Cloninger, is used to assess the Altruistic-warm versus detached-tough mindedness components of our personalities. According to Cloninger's theory, individuals high in reward dependence and low in norepinephrine levels are ambitious, warm, sentimental, pleasant, sociable, sensitive, sympathetic and socially dependent. Individuals with high RD personalities have a disposition to recognize salient social cues which in turn facilitates effective communication, warm social relations, and their genuine care for others, but these individuals are then disadvantaged in being excessively socially dependent. High reward dependent individuals also exhibit persistent behaviors and are easily influenced by emotional appeals. Individuals low in reward dependence and high in norepinephrine levels are then hypothesized to be typically independent, non-conformist, practical, tough-minded, cynical, unwilling to share their intimate feelings with others, socially detached, irresolute, insensitive to social cues and pressures, and content to be alone. They are also minimally motivated to please others and act for immediate gratification. So being low in reward dependence is related to social withdrawal, with aggressive anti-social behavior, detachment, and coldness in social attitudes. The RD temperament interacts with other temperaments and characters inherent in us enabling us to adapt to life experiences and influence susceptibility to emotional and behavioral disorders

Quantifying reward dependence Two questionnaires were devised by Cloninger to measure the temperaments and characters of individuals. RD can be measured using both the Tridimensional Personality Questionnaire (TPQ) personality test and by the newer and refined version of the personality test called Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI) and its revised version (TCI-R). Owing to the limitations encountered in the TPQ, in that the three dimensions' clinical utility was not readily apparent to many clinicians, Cloninger revamped the questionnaire and produced the TCI scale, which incorporates four dimensions of "temperament" and three dimensions of "character". The so-called subscales of RD in TCI-R are

Sentimentality (RD1) Openness to warm communication or social sensitivity (RD2) Attachment (RD3) Dependence on approval by others (RD4) A study comparing the TCI to the five factor model of personality found that reward dependence was substantially positively associated with extraversion and to a lesser extent openness to experience.

Brain physiology Cloninger describes reward dependence as being a prime component of the Behavior maintenance System (BMS). Norepinephrine (NE), apart from producing alertness and arousal, is seen as influencing the brain reward system by aiding in the learning of new paired associations. According to Cloninger, the norepinephrine neurotransmitter has its major ascending pathways arising in the locus coeruleus in the pons, projecting onward to the hypothalamic and limbic structures, and then branching upwards to the neocortex.

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Reward dependence

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Reward dependence claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In biology, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Reward dependence before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Reward dependence ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Reward dependence

In research: Reward dependence appears in biology research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Reward dependence in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Reward dependence is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Behavioral neuroscience, Neuropharmacology, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Reward dependence outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Reward dependence in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Reward dependence means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Reward dependence out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Reward dependence in simple terms?

Why does Reward dependence matter?

Because it connects several biology ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Reward dependence?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Reward dependence.