Laruen Slater's Rat Park

In the excerpt “Rat Park” from Opening Skinner’s Box by Laruen Slater, demonstrates how addictions are a choice by conducting an experiment involving rats and drug addictions. Addictions are choices made by an individual. An addiction is a condition that results when an individual ingests a substance (e.g., alcohol, cocaine, nicotine) or engages in an activity (e.g., gambling, sex, shopping, eating) that can be pleasurable, but the continued use/act of which becomes compulsive and interferes with ordinary life responsibilities, such as work, relationships, or health. Addicts may not be aware that their behavior is out of control and causing problems for themselves and others. The outcome of this experiment explains how related rats are to human beings. Slater’s experiment conclusion stated that there’s different types of addiction and its connections are valid. One connection is that the experiment came up with was the concept of “cage vs. colony”. In Slaters experiment, one rat was put in a cage with two waters one of regular tap water and the other of water with morphine. As a result of being caged, the rat chose to drink the water with morphine. Caged rats and people decide that it is best to take drugs when isolated due to

A person that is not an addict would at someone who is an addict as a weak minded person who wouldn’t be able to live in the real world. Addicts are perceived as people who will never be able to change because they are hooked and will never to let go of the addiction. It is believed that the addict will eventually go back to the addiction. The American public is more likely to think of addiction as a moral failing than a medical condition and thus most addicts suffer from depression. Addicts can also be seen as people with mental illnesses and moral deficiency. All addicts are commonly perceived as in denial because they do not want to acknowledge the fact that they are