It is only recently that the cognitive aspects of addictive behaviors have begun to be investigated by experimental psychologists and neuroscientists. This is the first book to investigate the complex inter-play of cognitive mechanisms that subserve subjective experiences associated with addiction, such as drug craving, as well as relapse.

Key Concepts in Health Psychology aims to provide the reader with a comprehensive understanding of the key issues, theories, models, and methods in contemporary health psychology. It allows the reader the opportunity to engage with a full range of approaches and methods in a very diverse field, and importantly to be able to appreciate the relationships between these.

The primary purpose of this book and its companion volume The Behavioral Genetics of Nicotine and Tobacco is to explore the ways in which recent studies on nicotine and its role in tobacco addiction have opened our eyes to the psychopharmacological properties of this unique and fascinating drug. While The Behavioral Genetics of Nicotine and Tobacco considers the molecular and genetic factors which influence behavioral responses to nicotine and how these may impact on the role of nicotine in tobacco dependence, the present book focuses on the complex neural and psychological mechanisms that...