A lapse is one instance. A relapse is a return to the pattern. The Abstinence Violation Effect is what happens in between, and it is driven by interpretation rather than by the lapse itself.
The effect is strongest when someone believes their behaviour reveals a fixed truth about their character rather than a response to circumstances. "I'm the kind of person who can't do this" is the sentence that does the damage, because if the project is already lost there is nothing left to protect, and the rest of the night, then the week, becomes a write-off. The prophecy fulfils itself.
This is the single most important idea in the course, and the reason the word used throughout is "slip" rather than "relapse". It is also why streak counters that reset to zero are a poor design for this: a system that lets one evening delete months of real change is a system built to trigger the effect.
The counter-move is boring and works: treat the slip as information. What was the cue, what state were you in, what happened in the two hours before. Then change one thing. Non-linear is the normal shape of change; a scatter plot with a trend, not a line going up. Plan for it rather than being surprised by it.
Where this comes from
Read the full lesson: The most important lesson in this course →
Sources and how strong they are (1)
- Well establishedMarlatt's relapse-prevention model identifies the Abstinence Violation Effect: after a lapse, attributing it to a permanent personal flaw predicts a full return to the behaviour.
- Marlatt GA & Gordon JR (eds) 1985, Relapse Prevention: Maintenance Strategies in the Treatment of Addictive Behaviors, New York: Guilford Press, ISBN 0-89862-009-0
- Curry S, Marlatt GA & Gordon JR 1987, J Consult Clin Psychol 55(2):145-149, doi:10.1037/0022-006X.55.2.145
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