The study of gambling has advanced exponentially in recent years, and the findings are impressive. This research is mirrored by the complexity of the public health concerns surrounding gambling.
Learning theories
There are several learning theories in gambling psychology that are used to explain gambling behavior. These include operant conditioning, classical conditioning, and social learning.
Operant conditioning is a learned behavior that involves a person’s reaction to a stimulus. This happens by a series of repetitions of the same action. Positive and negative reinforcement are involved. Physiological rewards are also important.
Generally, the positive and negative reinforcements associated with gambling can be explained through operant conditioning. However, there is a lack of a rational explanation for gambling addiction.
Cognitive behavioral therapy can help gamblers to overcome their addictive behavior. It targets irrational beliefs and biases. Gamblers are prone to illusion of control, sunk cost, and a gambling fallacy.
Social learning theory proposes that individuals learn from their environment and role models. Although, this theory does not fully explain gambling addiction, it does provide a more complex explanation.
The theory suggests that individuals learn positive gambling behavior through models, and that negative behaviors are learned through avoidance of gambling. In addition, participants described different strategies they use to control their gambling.
Participants also reported using avoidance-based strategies, such as blocking gambling accounts, not owning a bank card reader, and not having friends or family members with access to the economy. Other strategies, such as not owning a smartphone, depositing small sums into gambling accounts, and not borrowing money for gambling, can be used to reduce gambling.
Cognitive biases
Cognitive biases in gambling are deviations in information processing. These biases lead to distorted perceptions of reality. Gambling can contribute to the development and maintenance of a gambling disorder.
Despite the widespread use of gambling, there is limited understanding of its underlying cognitive processes. Studies of domain-general reasoning and problematic gambling have provided some insight into these processes.
Gambling approach bias, the tendency to approach gambling-related stimuli, has been associated with gambling expenditure over time. However, no studies have focused on automatic approach tendencies for motivationally salient gambling cues in problem gamblers.
An example of the illusory correlation is the tendency to assume that the odds of winning a certain game are more favourable than they really are. A similar phenomenon is the availability heuristic, which states that we tend to think that readily available examples are more common than they actually are.
Another example is the sunk cost bias, which refers to the belief that we will ultimately lose the money we’ve invested in gambling. This bias is particularly strong among moderate-to-high risk gamblers.
Various behavioral protocols have been developed to test the relationship between cognitive judgment bias and decision-making under risk. One such protocol, developed by Peter Wason, challenged participants to identify a rule for sequences of triples of numbers.
Gamblers tend to overvalue their ability to control the outcome of a gamble, whereas non-gamblers find little value in the decision-making process. Several studies have shown that gamblers are more likely to be correct in their guesses about the probabilities of a given outcome than are non-gamblers.
Arousal
Arousal in gambling psychology is a subject on which several experimental studies have been conducted. The Pathways model of Gambling ascribes a role to arousal, although it is not the sole factor. Several hypotheses have been put forward for the role of arousal in pathological gambling. One is akin to the classical conditioning theory, whereas another proposes that gamblers will respond to gambling cues differently than non-gamblers.
As it turns out, gambling is a highly complex and multi-faceted behaviour that can result in both mental and physiological stress. In the short term, gambling may relieve this stress, but in the long run, it can only serve to exacerbate it.
There are many reasons for this. For example, gambling can be an effective antidote to anxiety. However, gambling can also increase anxiety in the short term. While the benefits of gambling are well known, the risk of becoming a ‘problem gambler’ is not. Similarly, the effects of microtransactions in gaming can be problematic, particularly if the player is unable to control the impulse.
There are many arousal related gambling studies, but few have been able to isolate relevant patterns in a standardized manner. For example, one study examined the effects of microtransactions on gambling symptoms. Another investigated the effect of simulated electronic gambling machines on subjective excitement. And still other studies compared arousal measures between participants who gambled and those who did not.
Locational biases
It has been suggested that gambling behaviour is influenced by a combination of implicit, automatic and salient cognitive biases. These biases include attentional processes, automatic processing of motivationally salient cues and automatic action tendencies.
Cognitive bias modification (CBM) interventions have been shown to be effective in the treatment of substance use disorders, where disordered gamblers display impulsivity and cognitive exaggeration of salient gambling cues. The present study aims to evaluate the effects of online CBM interventions on gambling behaviour.
CBM interventions aim to reduce maladaptive implicit motivational processes that underlie pathological gambling. Gambling is a behaviour that involves both impulsivity and aversive consequences. However, it is unclear whether the negative effects of aversive consequences can be mitigated by reducing the impact of maladaptive implicit processes.
A variety of computerized and non-computerized CBM paradigms have been developed to address these biases. These paradigms often modify traditional tasks to reduce maladaptive biases. For instance, in the present study, participants were instructed to focus on a gambling-related picture and a control picture. They were also given automated feedback on their gambling motives.
A CBM intervention is designed to retrain an individual’s automatic, habitual cognitive processes towards cues that consistently correlate with rewarding effects. This is done by presenting a matched set of pictures pertaining to each category. Participants are also exposed to 50% of non-gambling trials.
Typically, gambling stimuli are presented for a specific period of time, ranging from 300 to 6000 ms. During this time, the fixation cross jittered between 300 and 1100 ms.
Partial Reinforcement
When it comes to the psychology of gambling, partial reinforcement is a good place to start. It can explain why some people are addicted to gambling and why some people find it difficult to stop.
Partial reinforcement can be defined as a schedule of rewarding or reinforcing behavior that occurs on a regular basis. The effects of such a schedule are dependent on the individual’s relationship to the reinforcer.
There are two types of partial reinforcement schedules: interval and variable ratio. Interval schedules provide a high rate of responding over a predetermined period of time. In contrast, variable ratio schedules provide a steady rate of responding over a more unpredictable period of time.
One of the most common forms of partial reinforcement is the extinction effect, a psychological phenomenon in which a response is persistent even after it has been interrupted. This is especially true of high-frequency gamblers.
Aside from the aforementioned extinction effect, another interesting feature of partial reinforcement is its ability to condition gamblers to continue gambling when they are not winning. Using a computer-simulated slot machine, researchers studied whether this effect might be applicable to human gamblers.
According to research conducted by Horsley, Osborne, Norman, and Wells, the best way to describe this phenomenon is to say that a gambler who has been repeatedly reinforced for an action will have the same reaction when that action is no longer reinforced.
Treatment
Gambling psychology is the study of how gambling affects our lives. It includes the emotional and physical consequences of gambling, as well as the risk factors for developing gambling problems. Fortunately, there are treatment options for those who find themselves addicted to gambling.
The most commonly studied forms of treatment are behavioral and cognitive therapies. These treatments attempt to alter underlying thoughts and beliefs. They focus on addressing and correcting irrational thoughts associated with gambling. Cognitive-behavioral therapy is particularly effective.
There are also some drugs that may be helpful in treating compulsive gambling. Narcotic antagonists such as lithium and naltrexone have shown positive results in clinical trials. In addition, antidepressants and mood stabilizers may also be useful.
Other psychological therapies include motivational enhancement strategies. These are brief, goal-oriented strategies designed to enhance patients’ motivation for change. Several studies have demonstrated that these interventions can lead to clinically meaningful changes in gambling behavior.
Pathological gambling is characterized by repetitive, impulsive gambling behavior that is accompanied by anxiety, depression, and other psychological symptoms. In addition, it may result in divorce, job loss, and other financial difficulties.
For those who have a gambling problem, the first step is to consult a health care professional. He or she will evaluate the situation and create a personalized plan of treatment. Treatment may involve various elements, including psychotherapy, behavior therapy, financial counseling, and other types of educational programs.
