AP Psychology classes are conducting a social experiment to see what it feels like to be an addict, called the “Ice Addiction Project”. The students are doing this project during their chapter 12 and 13 units, in which they go over various disorders.

For a period of 48 hours students must put ice in any liquids that they consume such as water, soda, milk, and soup. This helps simulate the effects of an addiction on daily life. Students must also wear a green neon wristband so they can see what it’s like to hide an addiction.

¨Basically, if I work my way up on something that I don’t normally have, after a certain amount of time you get addicted to it very easily,” senior Aaron Sullivan said. ¨It’s kind of hard to get unaddicted. To get off of it isn’t necessarily the easiest thing. I like to have ice with everything I drink now.”

The teacher acts as the dealer, and gives them more ice when they run out of it. Students participating in the project are not allowed to tell anybody about the project unless they are a part of it.

“My mom asked me about the ice a few times. She was wondering why the ice tray was being emptied so quickly and why I kept chewing ice all the time,” Sullivan said.

After the 48 hours have gone by, the students have a chance to write a review on their experience with the project and what it meant for them. The article is written for extra credit, and students who choose not to write the review simply gain the experience of what it’s like to be an addict.

“I am not writing the review paper on the experience, because I have a lot of other extra credit work I need to do,” Sullivan said.