Group versus individual gambling behavior: Reexamination and limitation

Abstract

An experiment was performed involving 120 subjects who had to choose among bets as individual persons and in three-person and five-person group systems. Contrary to some earlier research, a risky shift between individuals and groups was found only with respect to the probability selections, not with respect to stake selections, regardless of the sequence in which subjects were exposed to the individual and group situations. No significant difference existed between three-person and five-person group systems in both risk dimensions, but both individuals and groups took a significantly higher risk in selecting stakes than in selecting probabilities. All choices made by both individual persons and groups were independent of past experience. Despite the fact that group members were not obliged to reach any predetermined agreement level, all groups reached an unanimous decision. These findings cast further doubt on the generality of the risky shift phenomenon, suggesting that it is situational-specific.

Differential effects of red and blue coloured lighting on gambling behaviour

“…With collecti ve betting group polarization or group choice shifts, whether to caution (in, for example horseracing as observed by McCauley et al , 1973, andKnox &: Safford, 1976) or risk (with, for exam pie, blackjack as observed by Prui tt andTeger, 1969, andBlascovich et al , 1975b) are further reported. Although the difference in findings among various studies have been attributed to methodological biases by some authors (Sanders, 1978;Felsenthal, 1979), there remains the intriguing possibility of each type of gambling being affected by exclusive environmental conditions other than the actual gambled-upon-event itself.…”