Alcoholics Anonymous relies on participants identifying drinking cues, making amends, and finding socialized experiences that substitute for alcohol's reward.

“The thing that makes AA successful is that when you walk in, you stand up and you say, "My name is Charles and I'm an alcoholic." And then at some point, you tell your story. And when you're telling your story, you're reminding yourself of all the cues that prompt you to drink. One of the steps is I make amends. I go to all the people that I've wronged. That that teaches me what those cues are. I'm learning. I'm looking at my life as a scientist. And then often times the reward for drinking is a relaxed socialized experience. So when you go to an AA meeting, you have a relaxed socialized experience. Absent alcohol, but you're talking to other people. You're com you're communing with other people. The same thing you get at a bar.”