Conditioning

Question 1

what kind of reinforcement schedule do video games use?

Answer 1

variable reinforcement - encourages players to keep playing

Question 2

behavioural theory of gambling

Answer 2

• Gambling (a response) predicts occasional wins (reward, feels good) –> positive reinforcement
• Skinner: gambling as instrumental conditioning with reinforcement (money) delivered on a variable ratio schedule
• Ratio schedules increase behaviour/response more than interval schedules
• Variable ratio schedules can be difficult to establish, but once established are highly resistant to extinction
• • Often easier to establish when you initially reward them right away (ex. New gamblers winning big)

Question 3

Skinner’s 4 schedules of reinforcement

Answer 3

• Fixed interval (ex. 10s delay before next reward available)
• • Ex. Job paydays (you know you have to wait 2 weeks for next one)
• Variable interval (unpredictable delay)
• • Ex. Radio contests (you know you have to keep listening to hear the song, but you don’t know when it’ll play)
• Fixed ratio (1 prize every 10 presses)
• • Ex. Punch cards (you know once you buy 10 coffees you’ll get one for free)
• Variable ratio: 1 prize after an unpredictable number of presses
• • Ex. Gambling (when you play slots, you never know if/when you’ll win big)

Question 4

Measuring dopamine release during VR monetary wins

Answer 4

• 3 conditions: fixed ratio (win money every 4th trial), variable ratio (win money once in every 4, but you don’t know which trial), control group (variable ratio, but no money involved - just see a hashtag)
• Only variable ratio group showed increase dopamine in left striatum -> responds to unexpected money

Question 5

effect of uncertainty on electrophysiology data

Answer 5

• Study looked at dopamine cell activity during appetitive Pavlovian conditioning with 5 stimuli indicating different probabilities of reward
• At peak uncertainty (0.5), there is a cue (CS) response PLUS anticipatory activity (similar to “double-hit” seen in hyperlearning)

Question 6

gamification

Answer 6

• Video games often have multiple, overlapping schedules of reward –> creates a trickle of reinforcement
• • Ex. Completing a level, advancing your avatar, finding rare items, etc.
• Modern research shows that an accelerating points score (ie. Gaining points in increasingly bigger jumps) increases motivation across a variety of tasks including gym exercise (compared to a flat points score)

Question 7

Added utility of gambling

Answer 7

• “excitement is the gambler’s drug” -> physiological arousal during gambling play
• • That excitement is a commodity that the gambler is prepared to pay for
• • Gambling (regardless of winning money) may also serve to relieve stress/boredom -> negative reinforcement

Question 8

psychophysiology of blackjack

Answer 8

In studies comparing real vs. simulated gambling, substantial heart rate increase mostly only seen in the real setting -> demonstrates need for ecological validity

Question 9

influence of money on heart rate

Answer 9

Study by Anderson and Brown showed that participants in the lab who were playing for a “credit” prize (without real-world value) had lower heart rates than participants who were playing for money

Question 10

heart rate during slot machine play

Answer 10

• one study demonstrated that this is greater in problem gamblers
• but there were several problems:
• • Evidence of baseline differences
• • Regular gamblers were not formally screened for gambling disorder
• • Regular gamblers were more likely to win

Question 11

Causal role of arousal: croc study

Answer 11

• Participants either play slot machine game after holding a crocodile, or in the foyer before they enter the crocodile sanctuary
• • People who held the crocodile and were excited by it/enjoyed it placed highest bets
• • People who held the crocodile but didn’t enjoy it placed slightly lower bets
• • People who hadn’t held the crocodile yet placed the lowest bets