Through a lively discussion of the key scientific and philosophical issues surrounding addiction, this book is valuable for students in psychology, criminology, sociology and social work, as well as health care professionals and general readers interested in the nature of our free will.

1. Introduction. 2. Akrasia, free will and addiction. 3. Addiction: a chronic brain disease. 4. Why addiction is (usually) not a chronic brain disease. 5. Addiction as biased choice. 6. Development, vulnerability and prevention. 7. Pills or talk-therapy?. 8. Improving choice: reward alternatives, cognitive training and mindfulness. 9. Meat addiction? Cell phones, fossil fuels and our future. 10. Conclusions and lessons. Index.

Reinout W. Wiers is Professor of Developmental Psychopathology, at the University of Amsterdam, where he leads the Addiction Development and Psychopathology (ADAPT) Lab and he is (co)director of the University of Amsterdam's interdisciplinary Centre for Urban Mental Health. He is internationally known for his work on assessing and changing implicit cognitive processes in addiction. In addition to his primary work as researcher, he has been trained as a cognitive behavior therapist.