The behavioral economics of reinforcement pathologies: Novel approaches to addictive disorders.

In this chapter, which is focused on suboptimal choice and the associated clinical conditions that engender it, we devote particular attention to choices that are recurring and persistently suboptimal, that lead to the consumption of some commodity or event that provides an immediate and overvalued gratification, and that result in high costs over the long term. This problem of suboptimal choice is what we refer to as reinforcement pathologies. …