Why do slot machine gamblers use stopping devices? Findings from a ‘Casino Lab’ experiment

Chu, Stephanie; Limbrick‐Oldfield, Eve H.; Murch, W. Spencer; Clark, Luke

doi:10.1080/14459795.2017.1413125

Cited by 16 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 40 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Besides these long delays, there are some activities such as gambling that also involve delayed consequences, and may result in habit development. In slot machines, the delay between pressing the button and seeing the result is between 3 to 6 s (Chu, Limbrick-Oldfield, Murch, & Clark, 2018; see their Footnote 1). Fully electronic roulettes in the United Kingdom allow roughly four spins per minute, which implies a delay of over 10 s between the moment participants place their bets, and when they see the outcome 1 .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Delayed rewards facilitate habit formation.

Urcelay¹,

Jonkman

2019

Journal of Experimental Psychology: Animal Learning and Cogniti

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The transition from goal-directed to habitual forms of instrumental behaviour is determined by variables such as the amount of training, schedules of reinforcement, the availability of choices, and exposure to drugs of abuse. Less is known about the control of goal-directed behaviour when reinforcement is delayed rather than immediate. In these experiments, we investigated in rats the role of response-outcome contiguity on the control of goal-directed action, assessed through satietyspecific outcome devaluation tests. In Experiment 1 using a within-subjects design we observed goaldirected behaviour after six days of FR1 training when the outcome was presented immediately following the lever press, but not when it was delayed for 20 s, revealing habit formation with delayed outcomes. Experiment 2 revealed that the habitual control observed with 20 s delays of reinforcement can be prevented if, immediately before each instrumental training session, the rats were exposed to the experimental context in the absence of both the lever and reinforcement. In summary, these experiments suggest that response-outcome contiguity plays an important role in the control of goaldirected actions and habits.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Delayed rewards facilitate habit formation.

Urcelay¹,

Jonkman

2019

Journal of Experimental Psychology: Animal Learning and Cogniti

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…one AOI value equalled 1, and the rest zero). To address this, all non‐zero event‐related eye movement data were converted to 1 and data were analyzed in three fixed‐effects logistic regressions that tested the likelihood that the reels, credit window or win window were fixated‐on during a given phase (additional details in Supporting information, S2).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

et al. 2020

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background and Aims Immersion during slot machine gambling has been linked to disordered gambling. Current conceptualizations of immersion (namely dissociation, flow and the machine zone) make contrasting predictions as to whether gamblers are captivated by the game per se ('zoned in') or motivated by the escape that immersion provides ('zoned out'). We examined whether selected eye-movement metrics can distinguish between these predictions. Design and Setting Pre-registered, correlational analysis in a laboratory setting. Participants gambled on a genuine slot machine for 20 minutes while wearing eye-tracking glasses. Participants Fifty-three adult slot machine gamblers who were not high-risk problem gamblers. Measurements We examined self-reported immersion during the gambling session and eye movements at different areas of the slot machine screen (the reels, the credit window, etc.). We further explored these variables' relationships with saccade count and amplitude. Findings The ratio of dwell time on the game's credit window relative to the game's reels was positively associated with immersion (t (51) = 1.68, P = 0.049 one-tailed, R 2 = 0.05). Follow-up analyses described event-related changes in these patterns following different spin outcomes.Conclusions Immersion while gambling on a slot machine appears to be associated with active scanning of the game and a focus on the game's credit window. These results are more consistent with a 'zoned in' account of immersion aligned with flow theory than a 'zoned out' account based on escape.

show abstract

“…Yet, gambling venues and games exploit these heuristics. For instance, stopper buttons on slot machines encourage illusory control beliefs (Chu, Limbrick-Oldfield, Murch, & Clark, 2017).…”

Section: Behavioural Economics and Conceptual Models Of Gamblingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Behavioral Economics and Gambling: A New Paradigm for Approaching Harm-Minimization

2018

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The premise of this article is that an understanding of behavioural economics can inform and improve the effectiveness of gambling policies and practices. Existing interventions to minimise gambling-related harms appear to be ineffective. Many conceptual models of gambling consider the role of cognitive distortions in potentiating harmful gambling outcomes, however, policies and practices often fail to recognise the heuristics (and resulting biases) that drive ongoing gambling. A behavioural economics approach to gambling public policies and interventions acknowledges humans do not always act in their best interest and introduces a range of policy tools that better motivate behaviour change. This paper reviews insights from psychology and behavioural economics to develop recommendations for gambling harm-minimisation policies.Behavioural science tools such as commitment devices, personalised messaging, and more generalised 'nudges' can be effective across the entire spectrum of gambling-related harms. The interventions recommended involve low-cost, subtle tweaks to the decision-making environment that promote agency, encourage positive behavioural change, and improve measurable outcomes.A multidisciplinary, evidence-based approach to developing gambling policies is recommended to enhance gamblers' well-being.

show abstract

Why do slot machine gamblers use stopping devices? Findings from a ‘Casino Lab’ experiment

Cited by 16 publications

References 40 publications

Delayed rewards facilitate habit formation.

Delayed rewards facilitate habit formation.

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

Behavioral Economics and Gambling: A New Paradigm for Approaching Harm-Minimization

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About