Social learning theories of
drug abuse propose that individuals imitate
drug use behaviors modeled by social peers, and that these behaviors are selectively reinforced and/or punished depending on group norms. Historically, animal models of social influence have focused on distal factors (i.e., those factors outside the
drug-taking context) in
drug self-administration studies. Recently, several investigators have developed novel models, or significantly modified existing models, to examine the role of proximal factors (i.e., those factors that are immediately present at the time of
drug taking) on measures of
drug self-administration. Studies using these newer models have revealed several important conclusions regarding the effects of social learning on
drug abuse: 1) the presence of a social partner influences
drug self-administration, 2) the behavior of a social partner determines whether social contact will increase or decrease
drug intake, and 3) social partners can model and imitate specific patterns of
drug self-administration. These findings are congruent with those obtained in the human laboratory, providing support for the cross-species generality and validity of these preclinical models. This mini-review describes in detail some of the preclinical animal models used to study social contact and
drug self-administration to guide future research on social learning and
drug abuse.