Individual differences explanation - Cognitive Biases Flashcards
what are heuristics
these are mental shortcuts used to solve a problem or make a decision, and they often involve focusing on one thing at the expense of others
applying these to gambling
these have been used to explain why some people become problem gamblers.
it is suggested when a particular heuristic is selected in the wrong occasion this can cause problems for behaviour. contribute to gambling addictions by making it more likely that a person will continue to gamble even when losing
two heuristics by Kahneman and Tversky
- representativeness
- availability
Representativeness
belief that random events have a pattern and in particular that a series of events drawn from a small sample. eg. if people are asked to create a random sequence of twenty coin tosses they will suggest that the ratio should be 50/50 of heads to tails but may take more throws to reach the pattern
availability
principle that an event is seen as more likely if it is easier to recall from memory. the way people make decisions is often based on how often they hear about something and how available info is rather than the certain causes of death if they have either experienced it in close relative or it is something commonly reported in media
example of representativeness
Gamblers fallacy. the belief that is something happens more frequently than normal it will happen less frequently in the future.
eg- monte carlo 1913 one roulette showed run of black 23 times in succession gamblers believed red was due and there was rush to bet on red leading to money loss
example of availability
case of gambling this might encourage people to engage in continue with behaviour mistaken belief they’ll win.
media reports big lottery winners
casinos place slot machines close to each other so people hear sound of coins rolling out as people win and this encourages others
evaluation
- supporting evidence
- description or explanation
- issues with research
- everyone exhibits these cog biases
supporting evidence
mark griffiths
mark griffiths compared the verbalisations of 30 regular gamblers with 30 non regular gamblers while they were playing on a fruit machine. he found that regular gamblers showed many more irrational verbalisations than the non regular gamblers 14% compared to 2.5%
in add verbalisations showed evidence of many of the heuristics and biases
supporting evidence
jackie joukhader et al 2003
developed 65 item scale called gamblers belief questionnaire that covers a range of cognitive biases such as the gamblers fallacy.
they compared responses between 56 problem gamblers and 52 social gamblers and found that across almost all different beliefs assessed the problem gamblers scored higher.
both studies clear difference in cognition of prob gamblers suggesting cog biases is useful explanation
description or explanation
problem w cog biases is merely provide a decription of the thoughts of gamblers not the true explanation of what causes gambling.
it is impossible to predict when a particular bias might be used
even the same individual may use different bias on different occasions with no pattern
Griffiths first time there was a triple rollover in UK lottery the media reported that no13 had come up fewer than others so those choosing represe bias - believe it was due to appear and avail bias - (it wasnt common it was unlikely would) not pick it
using cog bias does not allow predictions about behaviour to be accurately made
issues with research
research into cog bias requires participant to report what they’re thinking this causes problems -
1. researchers have to decide what bias is being shown which may be succesptiable to researcher bias (griffiths)
2. questionnaires like gamblers belief- rely on gambler being honest on what they’re thinking = demand characteristics and social desirability. if gambler is aware they’re thinking irrational they may be reluctant to admit
everyone exhibits these cognitive biases
some biases can be found in non gamblers and gamblers who do not become addicted. we need to explain why cog biases led to addictions in some and not others.
eg.they have more cog biases or apply heuristics inappropriately.
Hayley Baboushkin et al - suggets many heuristics are appropriate in everyday situations but not appropriate when dealing with chance events- which is what problem gamblers fail to recognise
Applying this explanation to modifying addiction- cognitive restructuring
clients are taught to see that the thoughts they have while gambling are irrational
cognitive restructuring - griffiths
eg griffiths- suggests that the verbalisation he asked gamblers to make while gambling could be played back to them and this might help to highlight their irrational nature.
he tried this on a small scale with some of his P’s and the regular gamblers in his study and was surprised by what they heard suggesting they may find it useful in overcoming their problems
