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Title

Trait gambling cognitions predict near-miss experiences and persistence in laboratory slot machine gambling
Authors
Billieux, Joel
Van der Linden, Martial
Khazaal, Yasser
Zullino, Daniele Fabio
Clark, Luke
Published in British Journal of Psychology. 2012, vol. 103, no. 3, p. 412-427
Abstract ‘Near-miss' outcomes (i.e., unsuccessful outcomes close to the jackpot) have been shown to promote gambling persistence. Although there have been recent advances in understanding the neurobiological responses to gambling near-misses, the psychological mechanisms involved in these events remain unclear. The goal of this study was to explore whether trait-related gambling cognitions (e.g., beliefs that certain skills or rituals may help to win in games of chance) influence behavioural and subjective responses during laboratory gambling. Eighty-four individuals, who gambled at least monthly, performed a simplified slot machine task that delivered win, near-miss, and full-miss outcomes across 30 mandatory trials followed by a persistence phase in extinction. Participants completed the Gambling-Related Cognitions Scale (GRCS; Raylu & Oei, 2004), as well as measures of disordered gambling (South Oaks Gambling Screen [SOGS]; Lesieur & Blume, 1987) and social desirability bias (DS-36; Tournois, Mesnil, & Kop, 2000). Skill-oriented gambling cognitions (illusion of control, fostered by internal factors such as reappraisal of losses, or perceived outcome sequences), but not ritual-oriented gambling cognitions (illusion of control fostered by external factors such as luck or superstitions), predicted higher subjective ratings of desire to play after near-miss outcomes. In contrast, perceived lack of self-control predicted persistence on the slot machine task. These data indicate that the motivational impact of near-miss outcomes is related to specific gambling cognitions pertaining to skill acquisition, supporting the idea that gambling near-misses foster the illusion of control.
Keywords Adolescent — Adult — Analysis of Variance — Cognition/physiology — Female — Gambling/psychology — Humans — Male — Middle Aged — Motivation/physiology — Pleasure/physiology — Psychological Tests — Reward — Young Adult
Identifiers
PMID: 22804705
Full text
Article (Published version) (230 Kb) - document accessible for UNIGE members only Limited access to UNIGE
Structures
Faculté de médecine / Section de médecine clinique / Département de psychiatrie
Faculté de psychologie et des sciences de l'éducation / Section de psychologie
Centres et instituts / Centre interfacultaire des sciences affectives
Research groups Affective sciences
Unité de psychopathologie et neuropsychologie cognitive (UPNC)
Abus de substances (834)
Citation
(ISO format) 		BILLIEUX, Joel et al. Trait gambling cognitions predict near-miss experiences and persistence in laboratory slot machine gambling. In: British Journal of Psychology, 2012, vol. 103, n° 3, p. 412-427. https://archive-ouverte.unige.ch/unige:29373

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Deposited on : 2013-08-19

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