Individual Differences 2- Cognitive Biases Evaluation

Question 1

Contradictory evidence

Answer 1

Problems with using cognitive biases as an explanation is that they may merely provide a description of what causes gambling.

Explanations of behaviours should be able to predict what will happen in certain circumstance, however when using this explanation, it is impossible to predict when a certain bias may be used.

Even the same individual may use different biases in different situations.

Question 2

Griffiths (2003)

Contradictory evidence

Answer 2

First time there was a triple rollover in the UK National Lottery, the media reported that the number 13 had come up fewer times than any other. In this case, those using representativeness bias would pick 13, however those using the availability bias would not pick it.

This illustrates that using cognitive biases as an explanation does not allow predictions about behaviour to be accurately made.

• no study actually happened - just a theory.

Question 3

Supporting evidence- Griffiths (1994)

Answer 3

Compared verbalisation of 30 regular gamblers with 30 non regular gamblers while they were playing on a fruit machine. Found that regular gamblers showed many more irrational verbalisation that the non- gamblers e.g. blaming the weather. The verbalisation showed evidence of many of the heuristic identified.

This shows that irrational thinking leads to irrational verbalisations

• outdated

Question 4

Issue 1 methodological problems

Answer 4

Research into cognitive biases require participants to report to researchers what they are thinking and creates a range of problems e.g. socially desirable answers, researcher bias.

Question 5

Griffiths (1994) methodological issues

Answer 5

Researchers are the ones that have to decide what bias is being shown - researcher bias

Questionnaires rely on the gambler being honest about what they are thinking - socially desirable answersm

Question 6

Issue 2- everyone shows cognitive biases

Answer 6

The cognitive biases can be found amount non-gamblers and those who gamble but do not become addicted.

This explanation doesn’t explain why cognitive biases lead to addiction problems in some people but not others.

Question 7

Babouskin et Al (2001) issue 2

Answer 7

Many characteristics are appropriate in everyday situations but not appropriate when dealing with chance events - problem gamblers.