Measuring the slot machine zone with attentional dual tasks and respiratory sinus arrhythmia.

Abstract

Recent accounts of problematic electronic gaming machine (EGM) gambling have suggested attentional pathology among at-risk players. A putative slot machine zone is characterized by an intense immersion during game play, causing a neglect of outside events and competing goals. Prior studies of EGM immersion have relied heavily upon retrospective self-report scales. Here, the authors attempt to identify behavioral and psychophysiological correlates of the immersion experience. In samples of undergraduate students and experienced EGM users from the community, they tested 2 potential behavioral measures of immersion during EGM use: peripheral target detection and probe-caught mind wandering. During the EGM play sessions, electrocardiogram data were collected for analysis of respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA), a measure of calming self-regulation governed by the parasympathetic nervous system. Subjective measures of immersion during the EGM play session were consistently related to risk of problem gambling. Problem gambling score, in turn, significantly predicted decrements in peripheral target detection among experienced EGM users. Both samples showed robust RSA decreases during EGM play, indicating parasympathetic withdrawal, but neither immersion nor gambling risk were related to this change. This study identifies peripheral attention as a candidate for quantifying game immersion and its links with risk of problem gambling, with implications for responsible gambling interventions at both the game and venue levels. (PsycINFO Database Record

Zoned in or zoned out? Investigating immersion in slot machine gambling using mobile eye‐tracking

“…Immersion is a feeling of intense focus on a particular activity that reduces attention to competing goals and stimuli. Although viewed as desirable in many occupational and recreational contexts , immersion in gambling activities is a robust predictor of problem gambling risk . Slot machine gambling may be especially immersive: an Australian survey found that 79% of gambling‐related immersion experiences involved slot machines .…”

“…Most research on slot machine immersion has employed self‐report measures, but a few behavioural studies have tested whether immersed gamblers were less responsive to stimuli outside the game . Crucially, this ‘dual task’ approach cannot assess the allocation of attentional resources to the game itself.…”

Interoception and respiratory sinus arrhythmia in gambling disorder

“…Low heart rate variability is widely treated as a marker of impaired emotional regulation (Holzman & Bridgett, 2017) and has been widely reported in clinical groups with substance use disorders (Crowell et al, 2017;Quintana et al, 2013). Our hypothesis for RSA was also informed by an earlier study, in which regular slot machine gamblers with varying levels of disordered gambling showed lower RSA than a student group of novice gamblers (Murch et al, 2017), although the groups were not demographically comparable in that study. A physiological marker of deficient emotion regulation could have utility in treatment contexts given the potential for unobtrusive and arms-length monitoring and would concur with other studies employing cognitive and self-report measures of emotion regulation in gambling disorder Williams et al, 2012).…”

“…In a previous study measuring RSA in a group of students and a group of regular slot machine gamblers, resting RSA was noted to be markedly lower in the regular gamblers, who displayed moderate levels of disordered gambling. However, the two groups in that study were not intended to be demographically balanced (Murch, Chu, & Clark, ). In the present study, we predicted that resting state RSA would be reduced in a group of individuals with gambling disorder.…”

Slot machine gambling and testosterone: Evidence for a “winner–loser” effect?

“…Button press data was recorded with and extracted from AcqKnowledge ® 4.4 (Biopac Systems Ltd., Goleta, CA). To mitigate the recording of accidental presses or of button pressing in excess of actual betting, button press events were not considered if they occurred within .5 seconds from the previous press (Murch, Chu, & Clark, 2017). Video recordings of the gambling sessions were also taken in order to have a transcript for examining atypical button pressing patterns (e.g., rapid button pressing or long breaks in gambling) 2.4 Procedure…”