Cognitive Explanations Of Gambling Addiction Flashcards
what is the main idea behind using the cognitive approach to explain gambling addiction
gambling addiction is caused by irrational thoughts due to cognitive biases
what are the 4 cognitive biases
skills and judgement: believing they have an element of control, leading to an overestimation of their odds
persons traits/rituals: they believe they have a better chance due to superstitious behaviour
selective recall: generally only recall their wins, ignoring their losses
faulty perceptions: irrational views of probability that their streak will end due to things such as ‘beginners luck’
how is a gambling addiction initiated according to cognitive explanation
one cause of initiation is self medication for example people may intentionally use gambling as an outlet that treats symptoms from which they suffer as they believe itll cure their issues
another cause is Cognitive myopia
for example theyre placing more excitement on current pleasure, focusing on short term gains/pleasure, not thinking about the future/potential consequences
how is gambling addiction maintained according to the cognitive explanation
gamblers fallacy
which is where you believe you have more control than you actually do – this is an unrealistic, irrational belief that causes exaggerated self confidence from ‘winning streaks’ that dont actually exist
–> encourages continuation of gambling as they believe they have influence over outcomes
how is gambling addiction relapse according to the cognitive explanation
recall bias occurs where the person only thinks about their wins, overestimating the amount they’ve won this is a result of cognitive biases
causing the person to continue gambling as they believe they can win again
the just world hypothesis
- Believing the amount of money they have put in will return to them – viewing it as a bank making them continue gambling to ‘win it back’
strength of the cognitive explanation of gambling addiction
P: a strength of this explanation is CBT has shown to be effective in treating gambling
E: this suggests that cognitive processing plays a key role in this behaviour, as its effective in treating gambling
E: supports the cognitive appr suggesting irrational thought processes contribute to gambling addiction
L:effectiveness of CBT provides strong support for cognitive explanation of addiction
negatives of the cognitive explanation of gambling addiction
P: one issue is its hard to establish cause and effect between irrationality and gambling addiction
E: many studies are correlational showing association between cognitive and gambling behaviour, but does not prove irrational thoughts = addiction
E: challenges the cognitive explanation because if cognitive distortions are a consequence rather that a cause, then addressing these thoughts may not be enough to prevent addiction
L:therefore a more comprehensive approach that includes bio+social factors is necessary
