Models of behavioural addiction Flashcards
Early big win model (Custer)
Strong association with substance based
early and consistent big wins lead to compulsive gamblers
Supportive retrospective data for early big win model
Turner et al - pathological gamblers have a higher % of first time wins and a larger size of first time wins compared to subclinical and social gamblers
Evidence from animals for early big win model
stretch reward schedules occasional large rewards enough to motivate
Support for early big win model via peoples preferences
Preference for big wins - so even if statistically bad willing to pay for it
Limitations of early big win model
retrospective self report from gamblers - results tend to be inaccurate self-report bias
have to relay on it instead of objective data
Objective evidence support for early big win model
link between big wins and later involvement in sports betting
X- ignores that heavily involved gamblers engage in multiple types
Pathways model
Drawn in by 3 pathways
behaviourally-conditioned
emotionally vulnerable
biologically vulnerable
Behaviourally-conditioned
wins can draw anyone into gambling harms
no substantial issues beforehand
fluctuating harm
evidence for is the same s early big wins
Emotionally vulnerable
psychological vulnerabilities that predate gambling. Gambling to escape from daily problems
associated with female gambling and non-cognitively demanding products such as slots and bingo
support for emotionally vulnerable
twin study - childhood trauma raises risk of harmful gambling.
childhood abuse or witnessing traumatic event 2x risk of gambling
X- very few studies
Biologically vulnerable
lifetime history of impulsive or illegal behaviours which predate gambling
highest levels of gambling harm and highest number of comorbid issues (substance based)
support for biologically vulnerable
meta-analysis
association between ADHD and gambling harm
association between impulsivity and gambling harm
Evaluating pathways model
^ simple yet broad = useful
X- Has to be operationalised
X- deterministic less about cognitive steps and ignores role of natural recovery
Cognitive model of gambling
rational models of decision making
simple heuristics to make decisions lead to biases
people gamble to win money but lose approximately 15bill a year collectively
irrational to persist in activity that doesn’t lead to outcome your looking for
Biases explain why gamblers exist
Gambling biases
superstition
attributing wins to skill and losses to external factors
Taking bigger risks to get back even
selectively remembering wins
overestimating the role of knowledge or personal control (illusion of control)
Illusions of control
Meta -analysis lots of evidence
relevant for sports betting (cash out) believe have more knowledge then companies
Control too central?
study
alleyway gambling craps
luck based involving dice throws
people throw harder when aiming for higher numbers
x recent evidence saw same effect but was tiny and had no relationship with gambling engagement or harm
Passive superstition
out of control
replicated null results on illusion of control
better predictor of irrational thinking in the task then control manipulation
