Virtual reality as a platform for research in gambling behaviour

Abstract

Research into gambling behaviour is an important aspect of mitigating the effects of problem gambling. However, the majority of existing studies are conducted in the laboratory, rather than in vivo, raising questions over the generalisability of results. Virtual reality (VR) is well established as an effective tool for exposure therapy, and has also been used in other experimental contexts: such work is often motivated by the ability of the platform to create ecologically valid conditions, and simulations that would be hard to create in real life. Whilst a small number of studies have used VR to evoke the urge to gamble, and also to conduct behavioural studies, no work has yet considered the differences in experience between laboratory and VR conditions.We approach this from the perspective of immersion, arousal and user experience, and conduct a within-subjects study (N = 48) in which participants play a gambling game both on a laptop in a laboratory, and on a virtual gaming machine located in a VR simulation of a betting shop. Our results show that participants reported higher levels of arousal, as well as higher levels of immersion in the game when playing in VR. There was also a significant difference in self-reported physical task workload in VR. Based on our results, we argue for further use of VR in experimental research related to gambling, as well as further study of the experience and responses of problem gamblers to VR simulations of real-world gambling.

Designing Immersive Virtual Environments for Human Behavior Research

“…Researchers proposed that IVEs should incorporate typical elements (features such as furniture or features) of actual environments. In a study examining gambling behavior, Dickinson et al (2020) included items such as paper slips, pens, and stools in the betting shop ( Figure 5).…”

“…IVEs may be perceived as more immersive than lab conditions (Dickinson et al, 2020). However, high levels of visual realism (i.e., consistency between one's virtual vs. real-world experience Witmer and Singer, 1998) might increase expectations for other aspects (e.g., nonvisual and tactile) of the simulation to be equally realistic (Dickinson et al, 2020).…”

“…IVEs may be perceived as more immersive than lab conditions (Dickinson et al, 2020). However, high levels of visual realism (i.e., consistency between one's virtual vs. real-world experience Witmer and Singer, 1998) might increase expectations for other aspects (e.g., nonvisual and tactile) of the simulation to be equally realistic (Dickinson et al, 2020). This raises a critical consideration in designing IVEs for research: while realistic IVEs generally increase the ecological validity of research, some kinds of realism (e.g., adding avatars) inherently increase the complexity and confounding variables associated with experimental environments.…”

Reliability assessment of temporal discounting measures in virtual reality environments

“…Recent research has exploited the development of high-performance virtual reality (VR) technology to increase the ecological validity of stimuli presented in studies of cue-exposure [1–3] , counterconditioning [4] , equilibrium training [5] , social gazing [6] and gambling behavior in healthy control participants [7] . Furthermore, it has been shown to increase immersion and arousal during gambling games [8] . However, before VR can be widely applied with confidence it is important to establish that commonly applied behavioral tasks still yield reliable data in a VR context.…”

“…By equipping participants with head-mounted VR-glasses and sufficient space to navigate within the VR-environment, a strong sense of immersion can be created, which in turn generates more realistic stimulation. In this way VR also offers a potential solution for the problem of ecologically valid addiction-related stimuli for studies in the field of cue-reactivity [7,8] . For example, Bouchard et al [2] developed a VR-design that is built to provide ecologically valid stimuli for participants suffering from gambling disorder by placing them in a virtual casino.…”