| Course | ADC 515 Psychology of Addiction |
|---|---|
| Module | Module 2 |
| Paper type | Theory paper with application |
| Length | About 1,016 words, 6 pages |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Aspen University |
| Program | Psychology and Addiction Studies |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for ADC 515 Module 2
Two Systems, One Evening: Dual-Process Models and a Client's High-Risk Situations
Student Name
Psychology and Addiction Studies Program, Aspen University
ADC 515: Psychology of Addiction
Instructor Name
Month Day, Year
Two Systems, One Evening: Dual-Process Models and a Client's High-Risk Situations
Denise, the composite client at a residential program near Grand Rapids introduced in the previous paper, has noticed a pattern in her relapses: all three began between six and nine in the evening, after work, when she was alone. This paper uses dual-process models to explain the pattern and plan a response. As before, she and her treatment setting are fictional.
Two Systems
Strack and Deutsch (2004) proposed that social behavior is determined by two interacting systems. The reflective system generates behavior through knowledge and reasoning: it considers goals, weighs consequences and forms intentions. It is flexible but slow and requires effort and attention. The impulsive system generates behavior through associations learned from experience: a cue activates linked feelings and behavioral tendencies, such as approaching something rewarding, quickly and with little effort. Both systems operate in parallel and can push toward the same or opposite behaviors. Behavior results from whichever system's influence prevails, and the impulsive system is always active, while the reflective system works only when resources allow.
When Impulses Win
Hofmann et al. (2009) used this kind of dual-systems view to explain self-control failures. They proposed that behavior depends on three things: the strength of impulsive precursors, such as automatic associations and urges; the strength of reflective precursors, such as goals and standards; and situational and dispositional conditions that determine which system has more influence. Conditions that reduce the reflective system's capacity include cognitive load, ego depletion or fatigue, stress, negative mood and alcohol intoxication. Conditions that strengthen impulses include exposure to cues and states of deprivation. Dispositional factors, such as working memory capacity, also matter. Self-control fails, in this view, not because a person lacks good intentions but because the balance shifts under certain conditions.
The Brain Systems
Bechara (2005) described a neurocognitive version of this idea in addiction. He proposed an impulsive system, centered on the amygdala, that signals the immediate pleasure or pain of an option, and a reflective system, centered on the ventromedial prefrontal cortex, that signals the longer-term consequences. In addiction, he argued, the impulsive system becomes hyperactive in response to drug cues, while the reflective system is weakened, making it harder to weigh future consequences against immediate reward. The result is what people describe as a loss of willpower.
Conditions That Tip the Balance
| Condition | Effect | Denise's evenings |
|---|---|---|
| Fatigue after work | Weakens reflective control | Long shifts as a home health aide |
| Negative mood | Weakens control; may strengthen urges | Arguments by phone with her ex-husband |
| Being alone | Removes external support for control | Lives alone since divorce |
| Cue exposure | Strengthens impulses | Drives past the store; wine glasses in the kitchen |
| Hunger and low blood sugar | Weakens control | Often skips dinner |
Why Evenings and Not Mornings
The models predict that the same person will be more or less vulnerable at different times of day. Control resources are typically greater after rest and lower after hours of demanding work, and cues are distributed unevenly across a day. For many people in recovery, late afternoon and evening are the riskiest hours, when work ends, structure disappears and old routines begin.
Applying the Models to Denise
The models explain why Denise's mornings, when she is rested and busy, are easy, and her evenings hard. During the day, her reflective system holds her goal of sobriety firmly. By evening, fatigue, solitude, hunger and often a painful phone call reduce its capacity, while the drive home and the kitchen expose her to cues that activate the impulsive system's learned associations. Bechara's model adds that her impulsive response to alcohol cues is likely stronger than it would be in someone without her history, and her reflective weighting of consequences weaker.
A Plan for Both Systems
A dual-process view suggests working on both sides. To weaken impulses, Denise and her counselor planned to reduce cues: a different route home, removing wine glasses and asking her sister to check that no alcohol was in the house before discharge. To strengthen reflection, they planned to reduce the conditions that weaken it: eating before leaving work, scheduling a recovery meeting or call with a sponsor at six on weekdays and agreeing not to take calls from her ex-husband after five. They also prepared an if-then plan for the moment of greatest risk: if she found herself driving toward the store, she would call her sponsor before doing anything else.
If-Then Plans
The plan's if-then element deserves explanation. A general intention, such as "I won't drink tonight," must be retrieved and applied by the reflective system at the moment of temptation, exactly when that system is weakest. An if-then plan links a specific situation to a specific response in advance, so that the situation itself can trigger the response with less effort. In dual-process terms, it borrows some of the impulsive system's speed for the reflective system's goals. For Denise, the drive past the store becomes the cue for a call rather than for a turn into the parking lot.
What Counselors Watch For
Dual-process models also guide what a counselor asks about. Rather than asking only whether Denise wants to stay sober, the counselor asks when she is tired, hungry, alone or upset, what she sees on the way home and what she does in the first hour after work. These details reveal where the balance between her two systems is likely to shift, and they make relapse prevention concrete.
Limits of the Models
Dual-process models simplify. The two systems are not separate brain modules but descriptions of different modes of processing that interact continuously. Critics have questioned how cleanly the systems can be distinguished. The models remain useful clinically because they direct attention to conditions and cues as well as intentions.
Conclusion
Strack and Deutsch's reflective-impulsive model, Hofmann and colleagues' account of when impulses win and Bechara's neurocognitive model together explain why Denise's relapses cluster in her evenings: conditions that weaken reflection and strengthen impulses converge. A plan that reduces cues, protects her reflective capacity and prepares a specific response addresses both systems rather than relying on willpower alone.
References
Bechara, A. (2005). Decision making, impulse control and loss of willpower to resist drugs: A neurocognitive perspective. Nature Neuroscience, 8(11), 1458-1463. https://doi.org/10.1038/nn1584
Hofmann, W., Friese, M., & Strack, F. (2009). Impulse and self-control from a dual-systems perspective. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 4(2), 162-176. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1745-6924.2009.01116.x
Strack, F., & Deutsch, R. (2004). Reflective and impulsive determinants of social behavior. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 8(3), 220-247. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327957pspr0803_1
ADC 515 Module 2 instructions, in plain terms
Dual-process models are the second module of ADC 515, and assignments usually ask you to explain them and apply them to addiction. The Module 2 page in your Aspen course is your reference; the client here is composite. Describe the reflective and impulsive systems and how they interact. Explain the conditions that shift the balance between them, such as fatigue, stress and cue exposure. Connect the models to brain systems if your prompt allows. Apply the models to specific situations in a client's life. Draw implications for treatment that address both systems. Use APA 7 for every source, and avoid oversimplifying the models into good and bad systems. Show what each system contributes to a specific moment in the client's day, since the models earn their keep in that kind of detail.
How this ADC 515 Module 2 example is built
Denise, the composite client, has relapsed three times, always between six and nine in the evening after work. Strack and Deutsch's Personality and Social Psychology Review article supplies the reflective-impulsive model. Hofmann, Friese and Strack's article explains how impulse strength, control capacity and the situation jointly decide what a person does. Bechara's Nature Neuroscience article describes impulsive and reflective brain systems in addiction. A five-row table lists conditions that weaken reflection or strengthen impulses, each matched to a detail of Denise's evenings. Denise's plan targets both: reducing cues and strengthening control in her evening routine. An if-then plan covers the drive past the store.
ADC 515 Module 2 rubric: what earns full marks
Dual-process papers earn credit for accurate explanation of both systems, attention to the conditions that shift the balance and application that produces specific treatment ideas. This example explains each system's character and how they compete for control of behavior. It uses Hofmann and colleagues' framework to identify the conditions under which control gives way. Bechara's model connects psychology to brain systems without overstating the neuroscience. The table turns theory into a checklist for the client's evenings. The plan addresses both systems, which is the practical point of a dual-process view. The if-then plan gives the reflective system a ready response for the moment when it is weakest.
ADC 515 Module 2 help from the desk
Dual-process papers often describe the impulsive system as bad and the reflective one as good. Explain that both are normal and necessary; the problem in addiction is the balance. Identify the conditions that tip it. Connect theory to specific situations in a client's life rather than staying abstract. Draw treatment ideas for each system: reducing cue exposure and impulse strength on one side, strengthening control and planning on the other. Note that relying on willpower alone targets only one system and tends to fail under the very conditions where it is needed most. Plans written in if-then form are easier to act on under pressure than general intentions.
Write yours, or have the desk draft it
This paper is an original model document written by our desk, not a submitted student paper and not an official Aspen University document. Read it for the moves, then write your own to the instructions in your classroom. If you want one built to your exact prompt and rubric, the first custom sample is free and arrives in 24 to 48 hours.
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ADC 515 Module 2 questions, answered
What does ADC 515 Module 2 usually ask for?
Aspen's ADC 515 covers dual-process models in this module, so explaining reflective and impulsive systems and applying them to addiction is typical. Check your Module 2 prompt.
What is the reflective-impulsive model?
Strack and Deutsch's model in which behavior results from a reflective system that reasons about goals and an impulsive system that acts on learned associations.
When do impulses win over self-control?
Hofmann, Friese and Strack describe conditions such as cognitive load, fatigue, stress, depletion and alcohol intoxication that weaken control or strengthen impulses.
Where can I find a free ADC 515 Module 2 sample paper?
This page holds the full paper: the reflective and impulsive systems, the conditions that tip the balance and a plan for a client's evenings.
What brain systems are involved in addiction's dual processes?
Bechara describes an impulsive system centered on the amygdala and a reflective system centered on the prefrontal cortex, with the first strengthened and the second weakened in addiction.