Explanations for gambling addictions Flashcards
what are the two explanations for gambling addictions
- learning theory
- cognitive theory
what is the average amount of debt for someone addicted to gambling
£60,000
why is gambling looked at through psychological explanations rather than biological
gambling is not a drug that causes biochemical changes
what does operant conditioning say about gambling behav
if the behaviour is reinforced (through wins) it increases the likelihood the behaviour will be repeated
what 4 types of rewards can people get from gambling
- physiological
- psychological
- social
- financial
what are the physiological rewards people get from gambling
buzz from winning
what are the psychological rewards people get from gambling
near miss - a buzz at the aspect of almost winning
what are the social rewards people get from gambling
peer praise
what is the problem with using operant conditioning to explain gambling
causes confusion due to the fact that gamblers lose more than they win so why doesn’t this punishment stop them gambling?
what can explain why gamblers keep playing even though they lose
contiguity
what is contiguity
the co-occurrence of an action and a reinforcement or punishment
what does gambling being ‘time contiguous’ mean
the reward/positive reinforcement for gambling is immediate
how does contiguity explain why people continue to gamble even if they lose
people receive immediate punishment if lose so the overall negative feeling doesn’t arise until there have been as series of losses
what are the four different schedules of reinforcement
- fixed interval
- variable interval
- fixed ratio
- variable ratio
what is fixed interval reinforcement
reinforcement is delivered at predictable time values
what is variable interval reinforcement
reinforcement is delivered at unpredictable time intervals
what is fixed ratio reinforcement
reinforcement is delivered after a predictable number of responses
what is variable ratio reinforcement
reinforcement is delivered after an unpredictable number of responses
which schedule of reinforcement is most likely to lead to gambling addiction
variable ratio
what is variable ratio reinforcement most likely to lead to a gambling addiction
the uncertainty of the reinforcement causes more excitement
what are the three reasons gambling is hard to give up
- the ‘big win’ hypothesis
- the ‘near miss’ hypothesis
- environment
what is the big win hypothesis
early experiences with a potentially addictive behaviour shape long term addictive behaviour
how can the big win hypothesis make people more likely to get addicted to gambling
having a ‘big win’ early in gambling career or winning streak makes them continue to gamble to repeat the early experience
how does the near miss hypothesis encourage gambling addictions
losses that are ‘close’ to being wins create excitement which encourages further gambling
how does the environment encourage gambling addictions
positive emotions associated with the lights and sounds that cause excitement
how can social learning theory explain gambling behaviours
a child seeing their parents happiness can motivate them to try it themselves
how does the cognitive approach see gambling behaviour
as a result of cognitive distortions or maladaptive thought processes
what is the expectancy theory of gambling
if individuals expect the benefits of gambling to outweigh the costs, addiction is more likely
what is the cognitive bias all gambling addicts have
they focus on the positive aspects of the behaviour and downplay/ignore the negatives
what is a cognitive bias
an irrational belief that is unhelpful, illogical and inconsistent with our social reality, causing inappropriate behaviour
what are the four cognitive biases associated with gambling
- gambler’s fallacy
- illusions of control
- ‘near miss’ bias
- recall bias
what is the gamblers fallacy
the belief that completely random events are influenced by recent events
give an example of the gamblers fallacy
believing that runs of a particular outcome (3 heads in a row) will be balanced out by the opposite outcome (3 tails)
what are illusions of control
the performance of superstitious behaviours to help the gambler manipulate the event outcome in their favour
what do gamblers with illusions of control think success is down to
their personal ability or skill
what do gamblers with illusions of control think failure is down to
bad luck
give an example of an illusion of control
wearing ‘lucky pants’
what is the near miss bias
belief that they are not constantly losing but constantly nearly winning
what is the recall bias
tendency to remember and overestimate wins whilst forgetting about/rationalising losses
what may individuals with recall bias believe
they will be rewarded for their efforts/they deserve to win - comes after losses
