Explanations for Gambling Addiction: Cognitive Theory

Question 1

Briefly outline the cognitive theory of gambling addiction.

Answer 1

• Irrational beliefs & distorted thinking contribute to gambling addiction.
• Gambling addicts have cognitive bias - focus on positive aspects of behaviour & downplay negative

Question 2

What are the 4 cognitive biases of gambling addicts?

Answer 2

1. Gambler’s fallacy
2. Illusions of control
3. Near miss bias
4. Recall bias

Question 3

What is the Gambler’s fallacy?

Answer 3

Belief that random events (coin toss) are influenced by recent events (I got 3 heads in a row so now I’ll get 3 tails)

Question 4

What are Illusions of control?

Answer 4

Superstitious behaviours that gamblers believe help to manipulate the outcome of the event. (wearing lucky pants)

Question 5

What is the ‘near miss’ bias?

Answer 5

Almost winning makes the gambler feel that they’re not constantly losing but almost winning.

Question 6

What is the recall bias?

Answer 6

Tendency to remember & overestimate the wins while forgetting about or underestimating the losses.

Question 7

Explain the procedure of Griffith’s study (1994).

Answer 7

• Wanted to see if regular fruit machine players behaved & thought differently to non-regular gamblers
• Gave each p £3 & asked them to talk aloud so cognitive activity could be assessed
• Interviewed later to assess perceived skill level

Question 8

What were the findings of the study?

Answer 8

• Regular gamblers saw themselves as more skillful than non gamblers - actually no difference
• Made more irrational statements (machine doesn’t like me)
• Explained losses as near misses

Irrational beliefs do seem to sustain gambling & make people more vulnerable to addiction.