Personal relative deprivation, delay discounting, and gambling.

Abstract

Several lines of research have provided evidence for a relation between personal relative deprivation and gambling. Despite this knowledge, little is known about possible psychological mechanisms through which personal relative deprivation exerts its influence on gambling. The authors of this research sought to examine one such mechanism: the desire for immediate rewards. Using complementary approaches to studying psychological mechanisms, they tested in four studies the general hypothesis that personal relative deprivation translates into gambling urges and behavior in part via increased desires for immediate, even if smaller, rewards. Study 1 showed that an experimental manipulation of personal relative deprivation increased participants' preferences for smaller-sooner over larger-later rewards during a delay-discounting task. Studies 2 and 3 showed that a decreased willingness to delay gratification led to increased gambling behavior. Study 4 showed that preferences for smaller-sooner over larger-later rewards statistically mediated the relation between self-reported personal relative deprivation and gambling urges among a community sample of gamblers. The implications and potential applications of these findings are discussed.

Increasing wealth inequality may increase interpersonal hostility: The relationship between personal relative deprivation and aggression

“…They received the following instructions to a bogus test ostensibly designed to calculate their discretionary income (adapted from Callan, Shead, & Olson, 2011; see also Callan, Ellard, Shead, & Hodgins, 2008):…”

Why the Poor Play the Lottery: Sociological Approaches to Explaining Class-based Lottery Play

“…Another study employs a geospatial statistical analysis of the density of lottery outlets and finds a higher concentration of outlets within ethnically segregated neighbourhoods (Wiggins et al, 2010). Haisley et al (2008) demonstrate with experimental data that people are more likely to buy lottery tickets when they perceive their income as relatively low compared to others (see also Callan et al, 2011). Finally, on the basis of in-depth interviews, Casey (2003: 259) shows that female working-class lottery gamblers express dissatisfaction with their social situation and maintain the hope that the lottery will reduce their socio-economic constraints.…”

The relation between personal relative deprivation and the urge to gamble among gamblers is moderated by problem gambling severity: A meta-analysis

“…There is a growing body of correlational and experimental evidence demonstrating a link between PRD and gambling (Callan et al, , 2011Haisley, Mostafa, & Lowenstein, 2008;Mishra, Barclay, & Lalumière, 2014;Wohl, Branscombe, & Lister, 2014), but the individual difference factors that moderate this link have yet to be investigated. One factor that might moderate the relation between PRD and the urge to gamble is PG severity.…”