Effects of impulsivity, reinforcement sensitivity, and cognitive style on Pathological Gambling symptoms among frequent slot machine players

MacLaren, Vance V.; Fugelsang, Jonathan A.; Harrigan, Kevin; Dixon, Michael J.

doi:10.1016/j.paid.2011.10.044

Cited by 57 publications

(39 citation statements)

References 46 publications

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“…The CRT was originally developed to detect precisely such differences, such as impulsivity on inter-temporal choice tasks, and has been shown to do so (Frederick 2005). Consequently, our results are in line with other studies suggesting that gamblers are more impulsive (e.g., MacLaren et al 2012;Marmurek et al 2015;Michalczuk et al 2011;Miedl et al 2014), have higher levels of narcissism (e.g., Lakey et al 2008), have lower levels of self-control (e.g., Slutske et al 2012), more frequently show gambling-related irrational thinking patterns (e.g., Ellery and Stewart 2014;Fortune and Goodie 2012;Studer et al 2014;Rogers 1998), and are more susceptible to superstition (Joukhador et al 2004). Beyond gambling and related tasks, lower CRT scores also predict religious and other paranormal beliefs (Gervais and Norenzayan 2012;Pennycook et al 2012;Shenhav et al 2012).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

“…One additionally needs to be willing to act upon these perceived patterns, that is, to bet on them. This precondition also seems to be fulfilled in habitual gamblers: There are many studies showing that they are more prone to act impulsively (e.g., MacLaren et al 2012;Marmurek et al 2015;Michalczuk et al 2011;Miedl et al 2014). The perception of, and willingness to impulsively bet on, illusory patterns appear to fuel the classic choice anomaly of probability matching, as the next section will describe.…”

Section: Perceiving Illusory Patterns and Betting On Themmentioning

confidence: 96%

“…What, then, explains why gambling is appealing, and why do pathological cases of the compulsion to gamble exist? A large body of research suggests that cognitive distortions play an important role in the development, maintenance, and treatment of pathological gambling (e.g., Bechara 2001;Clark et al 2014;Jefferson and Nicki 2003;MacLaren et al 2011MacLaren et al , 2012Michalczuk et al 2011;Toplak et al 2007). Many of these distortions can be regarded as specific cases of a more general phenomenon: The misperception of randomness (e.g., Bar-Hillel and Wagenaar 1991;Falk and Konold 1997).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Betting on Illusory Patterns: Probability Matching in Habitual Gamblers

et al. 2015

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Why do people gamble? A large body of research suggests that cognitive distortions play an important role in pathological gambling. Many of these distortions are specific cases of a more general misperception of randomness, specifically of an illusory perception of patterns in random sequences. In this article, we provide further evidence for the assumption that gamblers are particularly prone to perceiving illusory patterns. In particular, we compared habitual gamblers to a matched sample of community members with regard to how much they exhibit the choice anomaly 'probability matching'. Probability matching describes the tendency to match response proportions to outcome probabilities when predicting binary outcomes. It leads to a lower expected accuracy than the maximizing strategy of predicting the most likely event on each trial. Previous research has shown that an illusory perception of patterns in random sequences fuels probability matching. So does impulsivity, which is also reported to be higher in gamblers. We therefore hypothesized that gamblers will exhibit more probability matching than nongamblers, which was confirmed in a controlled laboratory experiment. Additionally, gamblers scored much lower than community members on the cognitive reflection task, which indicates higher impulsivity. This difference could account for the difference in probability matching between the samples. These results suggest that gamblers are more willing to bet impulsively on perceived illusory patterns.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

Section: Perceiving Illusory Patterns and Betting On Themmentioning

confidence: 96%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Betting on Illusory Patterns: Probability Matching in Habitual Gamblers

et al. 2015

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“…Finally, the findings concerning time perspective confirm previous studies on both adults and adolescents (Ciccarelli et al 2016;Cosenza and Nigro 2015;Hodgins and Engel 2002;MacLaren et al 2012), which found that pathological and problem gamblers show a foreshortened time horizon, with orientation to the present and an inability to consider a long period of time into the future.…”

Section: Insert Table 2 About Here Discussionsupporting

confidence: 87%

Risk-Taking, Delay Discounting, and Time Perspective in Adolescent Gamblers: An Experimental Study

et al. 2016

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Previous research has demonstrated that adult pathological gamblers (compared to controls) show riskproneness, foreshortened time horizon, and preference for immediate rewards. No study has ever examined the interplay of these factors in adolescent gambling. A total of 104 adolescents took part in the research. Two equal-number groups of adolescent non-problem and problem gamblers, defined using the South Oaks Gambling Screen-Revised for Adolescents (SOGS-RA), were administered the Balloon Analogue Risk Task (BART), the Consideration of Future Consequences (CFC-14) Scale, and the Monetary Choice Questionnaire (MCQ). Adolescent problem gamblers were found to be more risk-prone, more oriented to the present, and to discount delay rewards more steeply than adolescent non-problem gamblers. Results of logistic regression analysis revealed that BART, MCQ, and CFC scores predicted gambling severity. These novel finding provides the first evidence of an association among problematic gambling, high risk-taking proneness, steep delay discounting, and foreshortened time horizon among adolescents. It may be that excessive gambling induces shortsighted behaviors that, in turn, facilitate gambling involvement.

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“…Arguably, impulsivity has received the most attention, and has been found to increase the likelihood of gambling onset (Auger et al, 2010) and predict subsequent problem gambling (Vitaro, Arseneault, & Tremblay, 1999). In addition, impulsivity might be a predictor of both gambling frequency (Benson, Norman, & Griffiths, 2012) and gambling severity (MacLaren, Fugelsang, Harrigan, & Dixon, 2012). …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Adolescent gambling and impulsivity: Does employment during high school moderate the association?

Canale

Scacchi

Griffiths

2016

Addictive Behaviors

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The aim of the present study was to examine the potential moderating relationships between adolescent gambling and impulsivity traits (negative urgency, positive urgency, lack of premeditation, lack of perseverance and sensation seeking) with employment status. High-school students (N=400; 69% male; mean age=18.35 years; SD=1.16; past year gamblers) were surveyed to provide data on impulsivity and employment. Multiple linear regression analysis was applied to examine associations with gambling and related problems. Positive urgency was associated with stronger scores of both gambling frequency and problem gambling. Students in employment had substantially higher frequency of gambling and greater problem gambling. Moreover, the combination of having a job and low perseverance was associated with a particularly high frequency on gambling. These findings further support the importance of positive urgency and employment status in adolescent gambling. The study highlights unique moderating relationship between gambling and lack of perseverance with employment status. Youth with a low perseverance and having a job may have particular need for interventions to reduce gambling.

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Effects of impulsivity, reinforcement sensitivity, and cognitive style on Pathological Gambling symptoms among frequent slot machine players

Cited by 57 publications

References 46 publications

Betting on Illusory Patterns: Probability Matching in Habitual Gamblers

Betting on Illusory Patterns: Probability Matching in Habitual Gamblers

Risk-Taking, Delay Discounting, and Time Perspective in Adolescent Gamblers: An Experimental Study

Adolescent gambling and impulsivity: Does employment during high school moderate the association?

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