The Relationship Between Reinforcement and Gaming Machine Choice

Haw, John

doi:10.1007/s10899-007-9073-5

Cited by 33 publications

(36 citation statements)

References 10 publications

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“…One possibility for this discrepancy is that the core dimensions measured by the GEQ do not capture the role of sound in slot machine games. In slot machine games there is no violence, no story and no skill, and it may be that slots games preferentially activate arousal via their variable ratio reinforcement schedules (Haw 2008). For this arousal dimension, players in this experiment indicated that sound played a key role.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Impact of Sound in Modern Multiline Video Slot Machine Play

et al. 2013

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Slot machine wins and losses have distinctive, measurable, physiological effects on players. The contributing factors to these effects remain under-explored. We believe that sound is one of these key contributing factors. Sound plays an important role in reinforcement, and thus on arousal level and stress response of players. It is the use of sound for positive reinforcement in particular that we believe influences the player. In the current study, we investigate the role that sound plays in psychophysical responses to slot machine play. A total of 96 gamblers played a slot machine simulator with and without sound being paired with reinforcement. Skin conductance responses and heart rate, as well as subjective judgments about the gambling experience were examined. The results showed that the sound influenced the arousal of participants both psychophysically and psychologically. The sound also influenced players’ preferences, with the majority of players preferring to play slot machines that were accompanied by winning sounds. The sounds also caused players to significantly overestimate the number of times they won while playing the slot machine.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Impact of Sound in Modern Multiline Video Slot Machine Play

et al. 2013

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“…Both laboratory studies and self-reports have examined the relationship between the reward characteristics of a game and gambling behaviors (e.g., Coates and Blaszczynski 2012 ; Dixon et al 2006 ; Haw 2007 ; Livingstone and Woolley 2008 ; McCormack and Griffiths 2013 ; Weatherly and Brandt 2004 ). Livingstone and Woolley ( 2008 ) examined the attractiveness of several gaming machine features based on a telephone survey of 180 Australian regular gamblers.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Although self-reports have shown a general preference for reward characteristics, experimental studies of the relationship between gambling behavior and reward characteristics has provided less conclusive results. Some studies have failed to support an association between gambling behavior and reward characteristics (Weatherly and Brandt 2004 ); others have found only partial support for a relationship (Haw 2007 ), whereas others have reported support for a relationship between gambling behavior and reward characteristics (e.g., Coates and Blaszczynski 2012 ; Dixon et al 2006 ). Dixon et al ( 2006 ) found that gamblers prefer games with more frequent but smaller wins to games with less frequent and big wins.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Relationship Between Structural Game Characteristics and Gambling Behavior: A Population-Level Study

et al. 2014

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The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between the structural characteristics and gambling behavior among video lottery terminal (VLT) gamblers. The study was ecological valid, because the data consisted of actual gambling behavior registered in the participants natural gambling environment without intrusion by researchers. Online behavioral tracking data from Multix, an eight game video lottery terminal, were supplied by Norsk-Tipping (the state owned gambling company in Norway). The sample comprised the entire population of Multix gamblers (N = 31,109) who had gambled in January 2010. The individual number of bets made across games was defined as the dependent variable, reward characteristics of a game (i.e., payback percentage, hit frequency, size of winnings and size of jackpot) and bet characteristics of a game (i.e., range of betting options and availability of advanced betting options) served as the independent variables. Control variables were age and gender. Two separate cross-classified multilevel random intercepts models were used to analyze the relationship between bets made, reward characteristics and bet characteristics, where the number of bets was nested within both individuals and within games. The results show that the number of bets is positively associated with payback percentage, hit frequency, being female and age, and negatively associated with size of wins and range of available betting options. In summary, the results show that the reward characteristics and betting options explained 27 % and 15 % of the variance in the number of bets made, respectively. It is concluded that structural game characteristics affect gambling behavior. Implications of responsible gambling are discussed.

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“…Yet, despite their rewarding properties, urge following wins did not differ statistically from urge ratings following losses or near-misses. Since Candy Crush wins are periodic and unpredictable (likely occurring in a random ratio schedule similar to slot machines), it was expected that wins would be a powerful reinforcement of behaviour in this context (Ferster and Skinner 1957; Haw 2008). The absence of significantly greater urge ratings for wins compared to losses and near-misses warrants further investigation in order to reliably understand the reinforcing nature of wins in Candy Crush.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Candy Crush Sweet Tooth: How ‘Near-misses’ in Candy Crush Increase Frustration, and the Urge to Continue Gameplay

2016

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Like many gambling games, the exceedingly popular and lucrative smartphone game “Candy Crush” features near-miss outcomes. In slot machines, a near-miss involves getting two of the needed three high-paying symbols on the pay-line (i.e., just missing the big win). In Candy Crush, the game signals when you just miss getting to the next level by one or two moves. Because near-misses in gambling games have consistently been shown to invigorate play despite being frustrating outcomes, the goal of the present study was to examine whether such near-misses trigger increases in player arousal, frustration and urge to continue play in Candy Crush. Sixty avid Candy Crush players were recruited to play the game for 30 min while having their Heart Rate, Skin Conductance Level, subjective arousal, frustration and urge to play recorded for three types of outcomes: wins (where they level up), losses (where they don’t come close to levelling up), and near-misses (where they just miss levelling up). Near-misses were more arousing than losses as indexed by increased heart rate and greater subjective arousal. Near-misses were also subjectively rated as the most frustrating of all outcomes. Most importantly, of any type of outcome, near-misses triggered the most substantial urge to continue play. These findings suggest that near-misses in Candy Crush play a role in player commitment to the game, and may contribute to players playing longer than intended.

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The Relationship Between Reinforcement and Gaming Machine Choice

Abstract: Post-print of: Haw, J 2008, 'The relationship between reinforcement and gaming machine choice ' , Journal of Gambling Studies, vol. 24, no. 1,. The original publication is available at www.springerlink.com, http://dx

Cited by 33 publications

References 10 publications

The Impact of Sound in Modern Multiline Video Slot Machine Play

The Impact of Sound in Modern Multiline Video Slot Machine Play

The Relationship Between Structural Game Characteristics and Gambling Behavior: A Population-Level Study

The Candy Crush Sweet Tooth: How ‘Near-misses’ in Candy Crush Increase Frustration, and the Urge to Continue Gameplay

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