Bruce Alexander - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Bruce Alexander

Research paper thumbnail of Canadian Centre for Policy AlternativesThe Roots of Addiction in Free Market Society

Special thanks to Patricia Holborn, who has read this manuscript more than once, and improved it ... more Special thanks to Patricia Holborn, who has read this manuscript more than once, and improved it every time. Thanks also to Seth Klein and Marc Lee of the CCPA and to reviewers Robert Allen, Clyde Hertzman and Jeff Sommers for their patient attention to detail. This complex analysis would have been impossible without long conversations with generous colleagues in many fields of specialization. My colleague Joan Wolfe made the computer work when nobody else could. I am sure there is a special place in heaven for such people. Thanks to Shannon Daub for editing and laying out this paper.

Research paper thumbnail of Drug Use, Dependence, and Addiction at a British Columbia University: Good News and Bad News

Canadian Journal of Higher Education, 1985

Two studies were undertaken to determine the perceived and actual prevalence of drug use, depende... more Two studies were undertaken to determine the perceived and actual prevalence of drug use, dependence, and addiction among students at Simon Fraser University. In thefirst, 144 students estimated the percentage of their fellow students that used each of seven drugs daily. Subsequently, each student reported how many days he or she had personally used each drug in the previous month. Estimated daily use (attributed tofellow students) was far higher than reported daily use. In a second study, detailed individual interviews of another group of students confirmed the unexpectedly low frequencies of daily use found in the first study: However, this does not mean that dependence and addiction were not a problem; of 107 students interviewed in the second study, 31% reported current dependence and about 5% current addiction. Surprisingly, the most common drugs in compulsive use were caffeine and nicotine followed, at a distance, by cannabis and alcohol. A new orientation towards drug problem...

Research paper thumbnail of Beyond Vancouver's “Four Pillars”

International Journal of Drug Policy, 2006

This article first describes Vancouver's "Four-Pillar Approach" to the problem of drug misuse. Th... more This article first describes Vancouver's "Four-Pillar Approach" to the problem of drug misuse. Then, a historical analysis of addiction in free-market society is undertaken. On the basis of this analysis, a recently proposed reconceptualisation of the Four-Pillar Approach is endorsed and three suggestions for additional steps, beyond the domain of the Four-Pillar Approach, are described. I argue that many such steps, far beyond the Four-Pillar Approach, will be necessary if the devastating problem of addiction is ever to be brought under control.

Research paper thumbnail of Theories of Opiate Addiction: Time for Pruning

Journal of Drug Issues, 1981

Both the United States and Canada have great difficulty achieving consensus on opiate drug policy... more Both the United States and Canada have great difficulty achieving consensus on opiate drug policy. This, in some measure, is the fault of the scientific community, which has failed to provide the clear theoretical understanding of opiate addiction from which policy could be readily derived. We believe that the confusing mass of competing theories can be greatly simplified, and a measure of clarity achieved, through consideration of two opposing orientations which pervade the theoretical literature. We label these the “exposure” orientation and the “adaptive” orientation. Recent data shows clearly that the exposure orientation is obsolete. The adaptive orientation, though it fits the new evidence, is scientifically underdeveloped. A major reorientation of research is desirable and would, we believe, eventually provide a firmer basis for policy decisions.

Research paper thumbnail of “Cocaine-Related” Deaths: Media Coverage in the War on Drugs

Journal of Drug Issues, 1991

A 1989 newspaper story describing twenty-nine cocaine-related deaths in British Columbia is used ... more A 1989 newspaper story describing twenty-nine cocaine-related deaths in British Columbia is used to illustrate the lands of unwarranted inferences that are propagated by the news media during the current War on Drugs. The newspaper story conveys the impression that most of the deaths involved well-integrated, moderate drug users, that all twenty-nine deaths were caused by cocaine, and that these deaths provided evidence of an epidemic of dangerous cocaine use sweeping the province. However, the coroner's files on which the story was based, and related research, provide strong evidence that all three frightening inferences are wrong. A more careful analysis of these deaths as a consequence of chronic deterioration in a fringe population can contribute to the development of realistic drug policy.

Research paper thumbnail of Maternal behavior of socially deprived Rhesus monkeys

The Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 1964

The maternal behavior of 4 monkeys separated from their mothers at birth and denied opportunity t... more The maternal behavior of 4 monkeys separated from their mothers at birth and denied opportunity to interact with other monkeys during the first 18 mo. of life is described and compared with the maternal behavior of 4 normal feral monkeys. The 4 socially deprived monkeys were grossly inadequate mothers, but the social development of the infants of these inadequate mothers was apparently normal. The maternal behavior of S additional mother-deprived monkeys is also described; 3 of these animals were inadequate and 2 adequate mothers. The 2 adequate mother-deprived mothers had early social experience; the 7 inadequate mothers did not. 3 inadequate mothers have given birth to a second infant and exhibited normal maternal care.

Research paper thumbnail of Evolution: Charles Darwin and Homo sapiens as a work in progress

A History of Psychology in Western Civilization

Research paper thumbnail of Contributions of taste factors and gender to opioid preference in C57BL and DBA mice

Psychopharmacology, 1988

C57BL/6J and DBA/ZI mouse strains have been characterized as morphine preferrers and avoiders, re... more C57BL/6J and DBA/ZI mouse strains have been characterized as morphine preferrers and avoiders, respectively (Horowitz et al. 1977). Previously, sweetened morphine solutions were presented with a water alternative, primarily with male subjects. Because sweetness may affect the endogenous opioid system and rodents have shown strain and sex differences in taste preferences, this study looked for strain-and gender-related taste preferences that might have affected opiate consumption. Preference for sweetened and unsweetened morphine and etonitazene was compared across gender and strain. In all choice tests, the control was a similar tasting quinine sulphate solution. Under these conditions, C57BL/6J mice continued to show strong preference for morphine. However, DBA/2J mice drank approximately equal amounts of morphine and quinine solutions, rather than avoiding morphine as when water was the alternative. Both strains appeared surprisingly indifferent to the synthetic opioid etonitazene, compared because it is potent at concentrations having barely perceptible bitterness. This raises the possibility of unextxxzted differences in post-ingestional effects between morphine and etonitazene. Contrary to reports of gender differences in sweet preference in rats, none were found in either strain of mouse. Neither were there any si~,nificant sex differences in opiate preference in either strain. C57 mice preferred sweetness more than did DBA mice.

Research paper thumbnail of The effect of housing and gender on morphine self-administration in rats

Psychopharmacology, 1978

To determine the effect of housing conditions on morphine self-administration, rats isolated in s... more To determine the effect of housing conditions on morphine self-administration, rats isolated in standard laboratory cages and rats living socially in a large open box (8.8m 2) were given morphine in solution (0.5 mg/ml) as their only source of fluid for 57 days. They were then exposed to a series of 3-day cycles previously shown by Nichols et al. (1956) to increase self-administratior/ of morphine in caged rats. On morphine/water choice days late in the period of forced consumption, between the Nichols cycles, and during a subsequent period of abstinence, the isolated rats drank significantly more morphine solution than the social rats, and the females drank significantly more morphine solution than the males. During the four choice days in the Nichols Cycle Period the isolated rats increased their consumption, but the socially housed animals decreased theirs.

Research paper thumbnail of Opiate addiction: The case for an adaptive orientation

Psychological Bulletin, 1982

... symptoms in physi-cally dependent users (Lindesmith, 1968). Other theories combine these two ... more ... symptoms in physi-cally dependent users (Lindesmith, 1968). Other theories combine these two operant reinforcement principles (McAuliffe & Gor-don, 1974, 1980;Pradhan & Dutta, 1977). In theories that draw on classical as ...

Research paper thumbnail of The social structure of the Oregon troop of Japanese macaques

Primates, 1967

Intensive observations were made of a troop of M. fuscata which was kept in a large outdoor corra... more Intensive observations were made of a troop of M. fuscata which was kept in a large outdoor corral at the Oregon Regional Primate Research Center during the summer and fall of 1967. The intent of the observations was to determine whether the troop's normal patterns of social behavior and social structure seemed to be affected by confinement in the corral. Substantial deviations were noted between the spatial structure of the Oregon troop and the central-peripheral structure typical of free-ranging troops in Japan. There was also some indication of heightened aggressiveness within the corral but other aspects of social behavior seemed unaltered. HISTORY OF THE TROOP The Oregon troop of Macaca fuscata fuscata originally inhabited Mihara in the

Research paper thumbnail of A Canadian perspective on drug policy

Pharmacology Biochemistry and Behavior, 1993

ONE HUNDRED AND FIRST ANNUAL CONVENTION and antagonist (mecamylamine) greatly facilitates abstine... more ONE HUNDRED AND FIRST ANNUAL CONVENTION and antagonist (mecamylamine) greatly facilitates abstinence following smoking cessation treatment. This counterintuitive approach may likewise have potential utility in the "analysis and treatment of other drug dependencies. Agonist-antagonist combinations may provide great flexibility in dissociating the tonic level of activation of a receptor system from phasic responsiveness to drug reinforcement. We have also developed methods for replacing the conditioned reinforcing cues which have been shown to be important modulators of craving for cigarettes. These cues are mediated by a variety of receptors, some of which have a pharmacologic specificity similar to that of central nervous system nicotinic receptors. Effective drug dependence treatments may require comprehensive strategies that not only replace and/or block desired drug effects, but also take into account peripheral conditioned reinforcing cues.

Research paper thumbnail of Opiate Addicts and Their Parents

Family Process, 1975

A minority of opiate addicts, especially young males, maintain close ties with their parents. The... more A minority of opiate addicts, especially young males, maintain close ties with their parents. These families, referred to here as “addict‐families,” are characterized by: (a) much greater success by the parents in meeting reality demands than by the addicts; (b) apparent congeniality and closeness but an absence of effective communication; (c) unsuccessful attempts by the parents to control the addict's behavior; (d) a tendency for the father to dominate the mother; (e) extreme overindulgence of the addict by one or both parents; (f) absence of parental support for movement toward adult responsibility in the addict; (g) family consensus in perceiving the addict as failing by conventional values. The characteristics seem to perpetuate the addiction, and the addiction appears to maintain the stability of the family.

Research paper thumbnail of Interpersonal Perception in Addict Families

Family Process, 1977

A technique called the “Interperception Matrix” was devised to investigate interpersonal percepti... more A technique called the “Interperception Matrix” was devised to investigate interpersonal perception in eight families in which addicted offspring maintained close parental ties. The addict families were compared with eight matched control families. Several differences were found between the two types of families. In addict families: (a) addicts, their fathers, and their mothers all held the addicts in low regard; (b) addicts were described as very different from their parents; (c) parents and addicts disagreed more in their perception of the addicts; (d) there was a consensus that the addicts' major flaws were passivity and dependence; and (e) the addicts' mothers described themselves as less agreeable and more passive. Addict families and control families were similar in their descriptions of an ideal for the offspring and in generally favorable descriptions of both parents.These results extend and partially validate clinical observations that social perception in addict fa...

Research paper thumbnail of Peaceful Measures: Canada's Way out of the 'War on Drugs

Canadian Public Policy / Analyse de Politiques, 1991

Research paper thumbnail of When experimental psychology is not empirical enough: The case of the "exposure orientation

Canadian Psychology / Psychologie canadienne, 1984

Page 1. WHEN EXPERIMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY IS NOT EMPIRICAL ENOUGH: THE CASE OF THE "EXPOSURE ... more Page 1. WHEN EXPERIMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY IS NOT EMPIRICAL ENOUGH: THE CASE OF THE "EXPOSURE ORIENTATION" BRUCE K. ALEXANDER Simon Fraser University ABSTRACT Most psychologists accept the ...

Research paper thumbnail of Defining "addiction

Canadian Psychology / Psychologie canadienne, 1988

Research paper thumbnail of Anthropology Man the Hunter R. B. Lee I. de Vore

Research paper thumbnail of The Effects of Acute Crowding On Aggressive Behavior of Japanese Monkeys

Research paper thumbnail of The Globalization of Addiction

Addiction Research, 2000

... Indian reserve in 1869, and the first official attempt to restrict operat-ing hours of saloon... more ... Indian reserve in 1869, and the first official attempt to restrict operat-ing hours of saloons in 1873. ... a massive, forced dispossession of the rural poor from their farms and commons (Neeson, 1993) and their absorp-tion into urban slums and ... THE GLOBALIZATION OF ADDICTION ...

Research paper thumbnail of Canadian Centre for Policy AlternativesThe Roots of Addiction in Free Market Society

Special thanks to Patricia Holborn, who has read this manuscript more than once, and improved it ... more Special thanks to Patricia Holborn, who has read this manuscript more than once, and improved it every time. Thanks also to Seth Klein and Marc Lee of the CCPA and to reviewers Robert Allen, Clyde Hertzman and Jeff Sommers for their patient attention to detail. This complex analysis would have been impossible without long conversations with generous colleagues in many fields of specialization. My colleague Joan Wolfe made the computer work when nobody else could. I am sure there is a special place in heaven for such people. Thanks to Shannon Daub for editing and laying out this paper.

Research paper thumbnail of Drug Use, Dependence, and Addiction at a British Columbia University: Good News and Bad News

Canadian Journal of Higher Education, 1985

Two studies were undertaken to determine the perceived and actual prevalence of drug use, depende... more Two studies were undertaken to determine the perceived and actual prevalence of drug use, dependence, and addiction among students at Simon Fraser University. In thefirst, 144 students estimated the percentage of their fellow students that used each of seven drugs daily. Subsequently, each student reported how many days he or she had personally used each drug in the previous month. Estimated daily use (attributed tofellow students) was far higher than reported daily use. In a second study, detailed individual interviews of another group of students confirmed the unexpectedly low frequencies of daily use found in the first study: However, this does not mean that dependence and addiction were not a problem; of 107 students interviewed in the second study, 31% reported current dependence and about 5% current addiction. Surprisingly, the most common drugs in compulsive use were caffeine and nicotine followed, at a distance, by cannabis and alcohol. A new orientation towards drug problem...

Research paper thumbnail of Beyond Vancouver's “Four Pillars”

International Journal of Drug Policy, 2006

This article first describes Vancouver's "Four-Pillar Approach" to the problem of drug misuse. Th... more This article first describes Vancouver's "Four-Pillar Approach" to the problem of drug misuse. Then, a historical analysis of addiction in free-market society is undertaken. On the basis of this analysis, a recently proposed reconceptualisation of the Four-Pillar Approach is endorsed and three suggestions for additional steps, beyond the domain of the Four-Pillar Approach, are described. I argue that many such steps, far beyond the Four-Pillar Approach, will be necessary if the devastating problem of addiction is ever to be brought under control.

Research paper thumbnail of Theories of Opiate Addiction: Time for Pruning

Journal of Drug Issues, 1981

Both the United States and Canada have great difficulty achieving consensus on opiate drug policy... more Both the United States and Canada have great difficulty achieving consensus on opiate drug policy. This, in some measure, is the fault of the scientific community, which has failed to provide the clear theoretical understanding of opiate addiction from which policy could be readily derived. We believe that the confusing mass of competing theories can be greatly simplified, and a measure of clarity achieved, through consideration of two opposing orientations which pervade the theoretical literature. We label these the “exposure” orientation and the “adaptive” orientation. Recent data shows clearly that the exposure orientation is obsolete. The adaptive orientation, though it fits the new evidence, is scientifically underdeveloped. A major reorientation of research is desirable and would, we believe, eventually provide a firmer basis for policy decisions.

Research paper thumbnail of “Cocaine-Related” Deaths: Media Coverage in the War on Drugs

Journal of Drug Issues, 1991

A 1989 newspaper story describing twenty-nine cocaine-related deaths in British Columbia is used ... more A 1989 newspaper story describing twenty-nine cocaine-related deaths in British Columbia is used to illustrate the lands of unwarranted inferences that are propagated by the news media during the current War on Drugs. The newspaper story conveys the impression that most of the deaths involved well-integrated, moderate drug users, that all twenty-nine deaths were caused by cocaine, and that these deaths provided evidence of an epidemic of dangerous cocaine use sweeping the province. However, the coroner's files on which the story was based, and related research, provide strong evidence that all three frightening inferences are wrong. A more careful analysis of these deaths as a consequence of chronic deterioration in a fringe population can contribute to the development of realistic drug policy.

Research paper thumbnail of Maternal behavior of socially deprived Rhesus monkeys

The Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 1964

The maternal behavior of 4 monkeys separated from their mothers at birth and denied opportunity t... more The maternal behavior of 4 monkeys separated from their mothers at birth and denied opportunity to interact with other monkeys during the first 18 mo. of life is described and compared with the maternal behavior of 4 normal feral monkeys. The 4 socially deprived monkeys were grossly inadequate mothers, but the social development of the infants of these inadequate mothers was apparently normal. The maternal behavior of S additional mother-deprived monkeys is also described; 3 of these animals were inadequate and 2 adequate mothers. The 2 adequate mother-deprived mothers had early social experience; the 7 inadequate mothers did not. 3 inadequate mothers have given birth to a second infant and exhibited normal maternal care.

Research paper thumbnail of Evolution: Charles Darwin and Homo sapiens as a work in progress

A History of Psychology in Western Civilization

Research paper thumbnail of Contributions of taste factors and gender to opioid preference in C57BL and DBA mice

Psychopharmacology, 1988

C57BL/6J and DBA/ZI mouse strains have been characterized as morphine preferrers and avoiders, re... more C57BL/6J and DBA/ZI mouse strains have been characterized as morphine preferrers and avoiders, respectively (Horowitz et al. 1977). Previously, sweetened morphine solutions were presented with a water alternative, primarily with male subjects. Because sweetness may affect the endogenous opioid system and rodents have shown strain and sex differences in taste preferences, this study looked for strain-and gender-related taste preferences that might have affected opiate consumption. Preference for sweetened and unsweetened morphine and etonitazene was compared across gender and strain. In all choice tests, the control was a similar tasting quinine sulphate solution. Under these conditions, C57BL/6J mice continued to show strong preference for morphine. However, DBA/2J mice drank approximately equal amounts of morphine and quinine solutions, rather than avoiding morphine as when water was the alternative. Both strains appeared surprisingly indifferent to the synthetic opioid etonitazene, compared because it is potent at concentrations having barely perceptible bitterness. This raises the possibility of unextxxzted differences in post-ingestional effects between morphine and etonitazene. Contrary to reports of gender differences in sweet preference in rats, none were found in either strain of mouse. Neither were there any si~,nificant sex differences in opiate preference in either strain. C57 mice preferred sweetness more than did DBA mice.

Research paper thumbnail of The effect of housing and gender on morphine self-administration in rats

Psychopharmacology, 1978

To determine the effect of housing conditions on morphine self-administration, rats isolated in s... more To determine the effect of housing conditions on morphine self-administration, rats isolated in standard laboratory cages and rats living socially in a large open box (8.8m 2) were given morphine in solution (0.5 mg/ml) as their only source of fluid for 57 days. They were then exposed to a series of 3-day cycles previously shown by Nichols et al. (1956) to increase self-administratior/ of morphine in caged rats. On morphine/water choice days late in the period of forced consumption, between the Nichols cycles, and during a subsequent period of abstinence, the isolated rats drank significantly more morphine solution than the social rats, and the females drank significantly more morphine solution than the males. During the four choice days in the Nichols Cycle Period the isolated rats increased their consumption, but the socially housed animals decreased theirs.

Research paper thumbnail of Opiate addiction: The case for an adaptive orientation

Psychological Bulletin, 1982

... symptoms in physi-cally dependent users (Lindesmith, 1968). Other theories combine these two ... more ... symptoms in physi-cally dependent users (Lindesmith, 1968). Other theories combine these two operant reinforcement principles (McAuliffe & Gor-don, 1974, 1980;Pradhan & Dutta, 1977). In theories that draw on classical as ...

Research paper thumbnail of The social structure of the Oregon troop of Japanese macaques

Primates, 1967

Intensive observations were made of a troop of M. fuscata which was kept in a large outdoor corra... more Intensive observations were made of a troop of M. fuscata which was kept in a large outdoor corral at the Oregon Regional Primate Research Center during the summer and fall of 1967. The intent of the observations was to determine whether the troop's normal patterns of social behavior and social structure seemed to be affected by confinement in the corral. Substantial deviations were noted between the spatial structure of the Oregon troop and the central-peripheral structure typical of free-ranging troops in Japan. There was also some indication of heightened aggressiveness within the corral but other aspects of social behavior seemed unaltered. HISTORY OF THE TROOP The Oregon troop of Macaca fuscata fuscata originally inhabited Mihara in the

Research paper thumbnail of A Canadian perspective on drug policy

Pharmacology Biochemistry and Behavior, 1993

ONE HUNDRED AND FIRST ANNUAL CONVENTION and antagonist (mecamylamine) greatly facilitates abstine... more ONE HUNDRED AND FIRST ANNUAL CONVENTION and antagonist (mecamylamine) greatly facilitates abstinence following smoking cessation treatment. This counterintuitive approach may likewise have potential utility in the "analysis and treatment of other drug dependencies. Agonist-antagonist combinations may provide great flexibility in dissociating the tonic level of activation of a receptor system from phasic responsiveness to drug reinforcement. We have also developed methods for replacing the conditioned reinforcing cues which have been shown to be important modulators of craving for cigarettes. These cues are mediated by a variety of receptors, some of which have a pharmacologic specificity similar to that of central nervous system nicotinic receptors. Effective drug dependence treatments may require comprehensive strategies that not only replace and/or block desired drug effects, but also take into account peripheral conditioned reinforcing cues.

Research paper thumbnail of Opiate Addicts and Their Parents

Family Process, 1975

A minority of opiate addicts, especially young males, maintain close ties with their parents. The... more A minority of opiate addicts, especially young males, maintain close ties with their parents. These families, referred to here as “addict‐families,” are characterized by: (a) much greater success by the parents in meeting reality demands than by the addicts; (b) apparent congeniality and closeness but an absence of effective communication; (c) unsuccessful attempts by the parents to control the addict's behavior; (d) a tendency for the father to dominate the mother; (e) extreme overindulgence of the addict by one or both parents; (f) absence of parental support for movement toward adult responsibility in the addict; (g) family consensus in perceiving the addict as failing by conventional values. The characteristics seem to perpetuate the addiction, and the addiction appears to maintain the stability of the family.

Research paper thumbnail of Interpersonal Perception in Addict Families

Family Process, 1977

A technique called the “Interperception Matrix” was devised to investigate interpersonal percepti... more A technique called the “Interperception Matrix” was devised to investigate interpersonal perception in eight families in which addicted offspring maintained close parental ties. The addict families were compared with eight matched control families. Several differences were found between the two types of families. In addict families: (a) addicts, their fathers, and their mothers all held the addicts in low regard; (b) addicts were described as very different from their parents; (c) parents and addicts disagreed more in their perception of the addicts; (d) there was a consensus that the addicts' major flaws were passivity and dependence; and (e) the addicts' mothers described themselves as less agreeable and more passive. Addict families and control families were similar in their descriptions of an ideal for the offspring and in generally favorable descriptions of both parents.These results extend and partially validate clinical observations that social perception in addict fa...

Research paper thumbnail of Peaceful Measures: Canada's Way out of the 'War on Drugs

Canadian Public Policy / Analyse de Politiques, 1991

Research paper thumbnail of When experimental psychology is not empirical enough: The case of the "exposure orientation

Canadian Psychology / Psychologie canadienne, 1984

Page 1. WHEN EXPERIMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY IS NOT EMPIRICAL ENOUGH: THE CASE OF THE "EXPOSURE ... more Page 1. WHEN EXPERIMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY IS NOT EMPIRICAL ENOUGH: THE CASE OF THE "EXPOSURE ORIENTATION" BRUCE K. ALEXANDER Simon Fraser University ABSTRACT Most psychologists accept the ...

Research paper thumbnail of Defining "addiction

Canadian Psychology / Psychologie canadienne, 1988

Research paper thumbnail of Anthropology Man the Hunter R. B. Lee I. de Vore

Research paper thumbnail of The Effects of Acute Crowding On Aggressive Behavior of Japanese Monkeys

Research paper thumbnail of The Globalization of Addiction

Addiction Research, 2000

... Indian reserve in 1869, and the first official attempt to restrict operat-ing hours of saloon... more ... Indian reserve in 1869, and the first official attempt to restrict operat-ing hours of saloons in 1873. ... a massive, forced dispossession of the rural poor from their farms and commons (Neeson, 1993) and their absorp-tion into urban slums and ... THE GLOBALIZATION OF ADDICTION ...