Addiction - Explanations For Gambling Addiction (Cognitive Theory) Flashcards
What is a cognitive bias?
distortion of attention/memory and thinking arising from how we process info about the world
How do expectations increase the likelihood of a gambling addiction?
People overestimate benefits (winning money) and underestimate costs (financial loss)
have unrealistic expectations that gambling will help them cope with emotions
What is one cognitive bias that some gamblers might have?
mistaken beliefs around luck
Who classified cognitive biases into 4 categories?
Rickwood et al
What are the 4 categories that cognitive biases are classified as, according to Rickwood et al?
Skill & judgement
Personal traits/ritual behaviours
Selective recall
Faulty perceptions
What is the skill & judgement cognitive bias?
having an illusion of control -> leads to overestimation of their ability to influence random event
What is the personal traits/ritual behaviours cognitive bias?
Gamblers believing they have greater probability of winning (believe they are especially lucky etc.)
What is the selective recall cognitive bias?
When gamblers can remember their wins but disregard their losses (interpreted as unexplainable mysteries)
What is the faulty perceptions cognitive bias?
Having distorted views on chance (gambler’s fallacy) -> believe a losing streak cannot last and will be ended by a win
Who did research into cognitive biases?
Griffiths
What was Griffiths procedure in researching cognitive biases?
Used thinking aloud method (form of introspection) -> to see difference in thought process of regular slot machine gamblers than those who used it occasionally
content analysis was done on the thoughts they verbalised and classified them into rational or irrational thoughts
semi-structured interview used to seek participants opinions about degree of skill required to win
objective behavioural measures were recorded using observation
What was Griffiths procedure in researching cognitive biases?
Found no difference between reg & occasional gamblers (objective measures)
regs made 6x as many irrational verbalisations than the occasionals
regular gambs both overestimated amount of skill required to win on slots & considered themselves skilful at doing so compared to occasionals
What is self-efficacy?
Our expectations that we have the ability to behave in a way that achieves in a desired outcome
How can self-efficacy explain gambling addiction?
can explain relapses -> individual takes up gambling again because they dont believe that they are capable of giving it up permanently (sets up self-fulfilling prophecy -> reinforces behaviour)
EVALUATION: What research by Michalczuk et al supports the cognitive theory of gambling addiction?
studied 30 addicted gamblers attending the national problem gambling clinic & compared them to control (30 non-gambling participants)
addicted gamblers showed higher levels of cognitive distortions, were more impulsive & preferred immediate rewards
supports view of a strong cognitive component to gambling addiction
EVALUATION: How can individual differences criticise the cognitive theory of gambling addiction?
Burger & Smith -> investigated personality factor (degree of control motivation)
high -> more likely to believe they can influence chance-determined situs (may be attracted to certain types of gambling where they wrongly believe their skill can make diff to outcome)
suggests cognitive biases alone cannot explain gambling
EVALUATION: How is real world application a strength of the cognitive theory of gambling addiction?
CBT has been able to directly address distorted thinking of gambler’s fallacy
Clark -> cognitive distortions have underlying cause in brain neurochemistry (opens up research in bio & psych treatments)
EVALUATION: What are some methodological issues with research surrounding cognitive distortions in gambling addiction?
most use self-report techniques e.g. thinking aloud technique -> people say things in gambling situations don’t necessarily represent what they really think & might not reflect deeply held beliefs about roles of chance & skill in their behaviour
