Is task persistence related to smoking and substance abuse? The application of learned industriousness theory to addictive behaviors

R. Eisenberger's (1992) learned industriousness theory states that individuals display differing degrees of persistence depending on their history of reinforcement for persistent, effortful behavior. These differences may influence the development, maintenance, and cessation of addictive behaviors. Individuals with low persistence may especially be attracted to the immediate reinforcement of drugs. Drug use may constitute further training in low persistence. These individuals may also fail to persist in behaviors needed for cessation. Therefore, substance users should display lower persistence than nonusers. In an initial test of this hypothesis, cigarette smokers (n = 52) were found to be less persistent than nonsmokers (n = 57) on 2 behavioral tasks. Moreover, drug and alcohol abuse was inversely related to persistence. If future research supports a role of learned industriousness in addictive behaviors, possible approaches toward prevention and treatment would follow.