Explanations for gambling addiction

Question 1

how does the cognitive theory explain addiction

Answer 1

consider the thinking of the addict to explain how addiction starts and how becomes entrenched

Question 2

what is the expectancy theory

Answer 2

where they weigh out the benefits and costs of behaviour
if gamblers see the benefits outweigh the costs they are more likely to get addicted however when coming to that conclusion they do not think rationally.

Question 3

what is cognitive bias

Answer 3

an irrational belief that is unhelpful, illogical and inconsistent with our social reality

Question 4

what do the cognitive biases focus on

Answer 4

thinking
memory
attention

Question 5

what are the cognitive biases

Answer 5

the gamblers fallacy
illusion of control
the near miss bias
the recall bias

Question 6

the gamblers fallacy

Answer 6

they believe that random events are influenced by recent events
eg coin landing on heads 3 times so tails will be the same

Question 7

Illusion of control

Answer 7

demonstrated by superstitious behaviours which helps them believe that can manipulate the outcome in their favour

Question 8

The ‘near miss’ bias

Answer 8

when gamblers they believe an unsuccessful outcome is close to a win. Gambler may then feel that they are not losing but nearly winning

Question 9

The recall bias

Answer 9

tendency to remember and overestimate wins while forgetting or undermining their losses despite the string of losses it does not act as a disincentive to stop
they believe that they will be rewarded for their efforts because they deserve to win

Question 10

Explanations for Gambling Addiction AO3:
big win can lead to persistance in behaviour

Answer 10

supports showing that big win can lead to persistance in gambling behaviour
Sharpe claimed that a big win when first gambling and the future patterns and wins and losses can lead to irrational beliefs. Eg a big win early can give them the belief that they can control the outcomes and have the skills necessary to win.

Question 11

Explanations for Gambling Addiction AO3:
problems with seeing gambling addiction solely as a product of reinforcing properties

Answer 11

there are problems with seeing gambling addiction solely as a product for the reinforcing agent
Many people have gambled at some point of their life and experience those associated reinforcements but a few of them become addicts
Suggests that there other factors involved in gambling addiction eg personality and genetics. meaning that learning theory is incomplete

Question 12

Learning AO3:
DIFFICULT TO APPLY SAME PRINCIPLES ONTO SOME TYPES OF GAMBLING

Answer 12

Difficult to apply to same principles to some types of gambling
Learning theory can explain gambling when there is no delay when placing the bet and knowing the outcome however it is difficult to explain addiction to gambling when the outcome is some time after placing the bet since the reward comes after long after placing the bet so in theory conditioning should be less effective
Lacks explanatory power because it does not provide explanation to all types pf gambling

Question 13

Addiction Learning Theory AO3:
Alternative Pathways for gambling addiction

Answer 13

criticism is that Nower & Blaszcynski claim there are different pathways for gambling
Suggest gamblers fall into one of 3 categories
1) Behaviourally conditioned (learned through conditioning)
2) Emotional Vulnerable
3) Antisocial impulsivist (act on a whim don’t think abt potential negative consequences)
Suggest individual differences= why ppl develop a gambling addiction- differences that theory cannot account for