| Abstract: | Gene Heyman's Addiction: A Disorder of Choice (2009) advances the important, albeit controversial, view that addiction is not a chronic, relapsing brain disease, but instead is an example of typical everyday choice that is both voluntary and self‐destructive. This review highlights Heyman's arguments for conceptualizing addiction as choice and discusses the utility of the treatment implications that are derived from the melioration model in which Heyman frames addiction. Self‐control and behavioral economics are presented as additional complementary frameworks for understanding addiction as choice, from which pragmatic, evidence‐based treatments for addiction (e.g., contingency management) might more easily be derived. |
