Integrating psychological and neurobiological considerations regarding the development and maintenance of specific Internet-use disorders: An Interaction of Person-Affect-Cognition-Execution (I-PACE) model
- Authors
- Brand, M., Young, K. S., Laier, C., Wölfling, K., & Potenza, M. N.
- Year
- 2016
- Journal
- Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews
- Type
- Conceptual / review paper
- Last verified
- 2026-10-04
Main question
What integrated model explains the development of Internet-use disorders?
Related claims
Summary
Brand and colleagues (2016) proposed the I-PACE model (Interaction of Person-Affect-Cognition-Execution) to explain how specific Internet-use disorders develop and persist. It is not itself a study but a widely used theoretical framework.
How the model works
The model describes how a person’s predispositions interact with affective and cognitive responses to cues, and with reduced executive control, to drive compulsive patterns of use. It is frequently applied to problematic pornography use, linking cue reactivity, emotion regulation, and self-regulation.
Why it matters
The I-PACE model provides a coherent, testable account — but it remains a model, not established fact. It appears here because it is commonly cited when explaining PPU.
Findings
- Proposes the I-PACE model, which integrates predisposing factors, affective and cognitive responses to cues, and reduced executive control to explain Internet-use disorders.
- The model is frequently applied to problematic pornography use to explain how cue reactivity and impaired self-regulation interact.
Limitations
- Theoretical model; specific pathways require empirical testing.
- verification needed (DOI/PMID not recorded)
Clinical relevance
Provides a framework for understanding interacting risk factors.
Relevance to problematic pornography use
A widely applied theoretical model for PPU development.