This course aims to be informative and practical. It focuses on developing learners’ overall knowledge on the history, prevalence, theories, research, assessment, and interventions of different types of behavioral addiction, including gambling disorder, gaming disorder, internet/smartphone addiction, compulsive eating and buying, and workaholism. Specific attention will be paid to their biological, neurological, and cognitive features and mechanisms. Students will learn to identify different types of risk factors for the development and maintenance of behavioral addiction. Through team project and experiment participation, students will have hands-on experience of theory application and use of common assessment tools in the Chinese context.

CILO-1: Compare and contrast substance-related disorders with behavioral addiction concerning prevalence, neurobiological and cognitive mechanisms, and interventions. CILO-2: Identify key features of various types of behavioral addiction. CILO-3: Discuss the etiological risk and protective factors associated with behavioral addiction. CILO-4: Apply different theories to explaining individual and/or cultural commonalities and differences in behavioral addiction. CILO-5: Select and apply proper assessment tools to relevant research and/or interventions in the local context.