Behavioral Posology: A Novel Paradigm for Modeling the Healthy Limits of Behaviors

Abstract

We introduce ‘behavioral posology’ as a novel modeling paradigm to analyze digital addictions through the concept of behavioral dose. As an example of this paradigm, a pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic model of a hypothetical digital behavior is presented, based on opponent process theory. Our simulation results replicate Solomon & Corbit’s model of affective dynamics from 1974, and the model predicts features of addiction such as hedonic allostasis, withdrawal, and apparent tolerance. Using Frequency Response Analysis, we show how behavior repetition may result in a hormetic dose-response relationship that depends on the frequency of the behavior and is moderated by the subject’s moral beliefs. The model can be experimentally validated using Ecological Momentary Assessment, allowing researchers to hypothesize, model, and test causal mechanisms for behavioral addictions. We also discuss the potential for behavioral posology as a clinical support tool in psychiatry, as this modeling framework may help to detect and limit behaviors being performed too frequently based on the person’s moral beliefs.