Gambling

Question 1

What is the history of gambling?

Answer 1

Gambling goes back to 4000 BC and just about every culture has a history of gambling

Question 2

What was gambling originally viewed as?

Answer 2

An immoral activity. Aristotle equates a gambler as a thief or even worse because stealing from his own friends.

Question 3

How did freud view gambling?

Answer 3

Oedpial guilt

Question 4

How did bergler view gambling?

Answer 4

The gamblers as neurotic with an unconscious desire for self punishment and loss

Question 5

How did the tides begin to change on gambling views?

Answer 5

Gambling as an outcome of abnormal condition, not immorality and medicalization of gambling recognized as something that is treatable

Question 6

What happened in the 80/90’s when gambling was legalized?

Answer 6

Disease model of addiction: addiction has biological, neurological, genetic and environmental sources of origin
Middle class acceptance that problem gambling is a disease that could be treated
Rapid expansion of gambling in the 1980's and 1990's

Question 7

How has gambling moved into the 21st century?

Answer 7

Social casino gambling (play gambling type games for free, they give you credits or game dollars)
The top apps on Facebook are always social casino games, pull you into actual online gambling (the game makes you believe you’re good)

Question 8

What is the per capita loss from gambling for canadians vs. Australians?

Answer 8

On average Canadians lose around 400$ to gambling (86% of Canadians gamble at least once per year)
Australia loses 1000$ per capita on gambling in a year

Question 9

Why do so many people gamble? The 4 E’s of gambling

Answer 9

Economic gain
Excitement
Entertainment (is the one of the 4 E’s that isnt all that bad- can involve responsible gambling for example going with 50$ for entertainment purposes and leaving when its gone)
Escape (dissociation- alters sense of time and space, you lose yourself)

Question 10

What is problem gambling?

Answer 10

A descriptive term used to define those individuals with problems in their lives due to gambling

Question 11

What changed in the DSM5 for gambling?

Answer 11

Left: impulse control disorder
Joined: substance related and addictive disorders
The first formally recognized behavioural addiction (only one right now)

Question 12

What percentage of individuals who are in need of a behaviour change actually change?

Answer 12

Only about 15% of those who are in need of a behaviour change actually do take the necessary steps to change their behaviour. 85% don’t take action.

Question 13

What is the transtheoretical model of behavioural change?

Answer 13

Precontemplation: No recognition of need for or interest in change (not thinking about change)
Contemplation: Thinking about change
Preparation: planning for change
Action: Adopting new habits
Maintenance: ongoing practice of new, healthier behaviour
It’s not a linear model, people can go backwards in the stages or skip stages
One problem with this model is that it’s a stage model, just describe where you’re at not how you got to that stage

Question 14

What percentage of Canadians set vs. follow new years resolutions?

Answer 14

50% of Canadians set one but only 19% are successful two years later

Question 15

What are the differences between gamblng and substance misuse?

Answer 15

Hidden addiction
Doesn’t require ingestion
Can't overdose- no saturation point
Can't be tested
People don’t think it’s a true addiction

Question 16

What are some psychological or cognitive barriers to change?

Answer 16

Humans aren’t good estimators of probability, Risk perception and actual hazards
Illusion of control: belief that uncontrollable outcomes can be controlled through personal, effort
Pressing the elevator button a million times even though it has no effect on how fast it comes because you have no control over that

Question 17

Education in treatment: connection (Kim & Wohl, 2017)

Answer 17

Cognitive distortions post treatment decreased at post treatment
Motivation to overcome gambling problems increased post treatment

Question 18

What might a negative sense of self-worth lead to and why?

Answer 18

it leads to problematic behaviour and undermines behaviour change and Shame: I am a bad person (personal attribution) vs. Guilt: I have done a bad thing (situational attribution). People who had a negative self perception involving shame and guilt were more likely not to take action.

Question 19

What is self forgiveness?

Answer 19

A positive attitudinal shift in the feelings, actions, and beliefs about the self following a self-perceived transgression or wrongdoing committed by the self. Mental maintenance that keep us on a mentally healthy road. Reduces shame and guilt
Relieves symptoms of depression and anxiety. Improves self-esteem among those in treatment for alcoholism and eating disorders

Question 20

What is the dark side of self forgiveness?

Answer 20

Self forgivers exhibit high levels of narcissism. Self forgiveness can maintain the behavioural status quo.

Question 21

Self forgiveness and behaviour change study

Answer 21

Participants: 305 gamblers 
Measured variables: 
-Gambling symptomatology
-Self forgiveness
-Readiness to change
Found self forgiveness to be a mediator the more forgiving you are, the less likely you are to change (indicated by the -) Self forgiveness may be good ONCE you have stopped the behaviour, But while you are engaged in the behaviour self forgiveness undermines change

Question 22

What did Thompson & Wohl (2011) find about smoking and self forgiveness?

Answer 22

Self forgiveness reduces the positive impact of acknowledging smoking’s negative effects (i.e., smoking cons) on motivation to quit

Question 23

What is authenticity?

Answer 23

living one’s life according to the needs of one’s inner being, rather than the demands of society or one’s early conditioning
This quest for authenticity can ruin relationships. Feelings of authenticity promoted self esteem and protected against depression and anxiety

Question 24

What is the dark side of authenticity?

Answer 24

What happens if you feel authentic while gambling? recruited sports better who were watching the Stanley cup playoffs
Measures: Authenticity while gambling, betting frequency, Biggest win and loss. Found that authenticity while gambling significantly predicted all 3

Question 25

What is social identity?

Answer 25

Part of our sense of self is derived from the groups to which we belong

Question 26

The dark side of authenticity while taking into account social identity

Answer 26

Returned to sports bar Sports during Stanley Cup Playoffs Measures: 1. Authenticity while gambling 2. Identification as a gambler 3. Readiness to change
Authenticity while gambling led to identification as a gambler which undermined readiness to change.

Question 27

How is a healthy self concept created?

Answer 27

when someone derives self worth from numerous domains/groups. (pie chart in slides)

Question 28

When do problems of self worth begin?

Answer 28

Problems emerge when one part of that pie start overwhelming or dominates other parts this is called overvalued ideation. When this happens you have a dysfunctional system for evaluating self worth. Maladaptive behaviours occur to bolster self worth and to cope with stress

Question 29

Where are highly identified gamblers deriving their self worth?

Answer 29

the role of a financially focused self concept

Question 30

Identification as a gambler and a financially focused self concept

Answer 30

Centrality- strongly associated with FFS
Ingroup ties- Moderately associated with FFS
Positive affect- not associated with FFS

Question 31

What is motivational interviewing?

Answer 31

reduce or minimize resistance. Explore discrepancy between behavior and goal to resolve ambivalence. “allow clients to see how the problem might be at odds with their hopes for the future”. Engaging in change talk

Question 32

what do people who feel self continuous report?

Answer 32

High levels of psychological well-being, A desire to achieve and maintain well being, Elevated levels of self-esteem.
When unwanted change has befallen the self perhaps we should be focusing on the past, the past that is free of the disorder and not the future

Question 33

Self discontinuity and behaviour change

Answer 33

When unwanted change has befallen the self Anectodal evidence from the clinical setting
Why might self discontinuity promote change?
The past is tangible, the future is vague
The past elicits nostalgia (sentimental yearning for the happiness of a former place or time)

Question 34

How can we measure self discontinuity?

Answer 34

If we can make people feel nostalgic for the pre addicted self then they are more motivated to change. The future can be stress inducing. The
past can be used to motivate change.

Question 35

What is Pathological/compulsive gambling?

Answer 35

the clinical term for the impulsive control disorder defined I DSM IV 312.31 (failure to resist the impulse to gamble)