3.1.3 Cognitive Biases (Add) Flashcards
how could computer analogy explain addiction?
faulty thinking - drug use acceptable
leads to faulty output of substance abuse
how could schemas explain addiction?
person develops certain ideas about a lifestyle e.g. students should drink
according to the cognitive view addiction is a result of what?
faulty thinking patterns
errors in thinking explain what?
why addicts begin and continue their behaviours
what are these errors known as?
cognitive biases
what are heuristics?
strategies and mental shortcuts
what do humans use heuristics to approach?
decision making, problem solving, making judgements
how can heuristics lead to cognitive biases?
people take shortcuts deviating from the logical decision they should have made
what does the representative heuristic involve believing?
random events follow a pattern
with the representative heuristic some become problem gamblers as they develop a gamblers fallacy - what is this?
believing if something happens more now it will happen less in the future
give example of gamblers fallacy:
e.g. roulette table showing consecutive black then a red is “due”
with gamblers fallacy what do gamblers believe?
they can predict bet outcomes and are due a win
what principle is the availability heuristic based upon?
an event is perceived as more likely if it can be recalled from memory e.g. hearing about something
with problem gambling the availability heuristic may have the effect of giving a gambler what belief?
belief they are likely to win making them continue gambling
what things may make the individual feel they have a good chance of winning? (availability heuristic)
media reports of big wins
hearing others win e.g. slot machines in a casino
what is the illusion of control?
gamblers believing if they control part of the gambling process e.g. throwing the dice in a certain way, they will have more chance of a win
what is hindsight bias?
problem gambler believing they could have predicted the outcome of the gamble
how does hindsight bias act as reassurance?
belief if they keep gambling and improve their skill they will be able to win more
what does self serving bias involve gamblers saying their wins are due to?
internal causes e.g own skill
what does self serving bias involve gamblers saying their losses are due to? making them what?
bad luck
feel better about their losses
self serving bias encourages gamblers to do what?
continue to gamble
What did Toneatto find and when did he find it
Found that typical cognitive distortions of gamblers included selective memory, superstitious beliefs and an illusion of control, which is consistent with the increased irrational verbalisations found by Griffiths (1994).
He found this in 1999
What Johnsen et al found and when did he find it
Found that active smokers had slower reaction times on the addiction version of the stroop test than both ex-smokers and non-smokers.
Found this in 1997.
