Data for the paper titled: Framing addiction as a compulsive brain disease lowers readiness to change addictive behaviour in alcohol consumers, in two exploratory experiments

Dataset for the article: “Framing addiction as a compulsive brain disease lowers readiness to change addictive behaviour in alcohol consumers, in two exploratory experiments" (abstract below), accepted on the 22nd April 2026 by the journal Addiction Research and Theory.<b>Background</b>It has been argued that framing addiction as a compulsive brain disease rather than a value-based choice might harm substance users’ motivation and beliefs concerning their capacity to modify their behaviour (so called psychological recovery capital, e.g., readiness to change) but few experiments have tested this proposal. <b>Methods</b>In study 1, students who drink hazardously (N = 63) were randomised to read and hear quotes from scientific publications describing addiction as a compulsive brain disease versus a value-based choice (between-subjects, in-laboratory), before reporting readiness to change their drinking behaviour, alcohol choice, craving and self-efficacy. In study 2, students who drink weekly (N = 155) were randomised to receive the same framing manipulation (online), before reporting readiness to change their unwanted habits, self-control and self-regulation.<b> Results</b>In both studies, participants reported lower readiness to change following exposure to scientific quotes that framed addiction as a compulsive brain disease versus a value based choice (study 1: M = 2.95 vs. M = 3.32, p = 0.025, d = 0.58; study 2: M = 3.18 vs. M = 3.40, p &lt; 0.04, d = 0.33). There were no significant framing effects on other outcome measures. <b>Conclusions</b>These findings provide preliminary evidence that scientific discourse describing addiction as a compulsive brain disease rather than a value-based choice is iatrogenic (in the sense of being a harmful diagnosis) in reducing readiness to change drinking behaviour and unwanted habits in students who consume alcohol hazardously or weekly. These findings provide a foundation for further research into the downstream epistemic consequences of scientific addiction narratives on psychological recovery capital.