explanations for gambling addiction: cognitive theory Flashcards
(29 cards)
What is the cognitive theory of gambling addiction?
It suggests gambling is influenced by cognitive distortions such as biases and expectations about outcomes.
What role do expectations play in gambling?
People overestimate the benefits and underestimate the costs of gambling.
What emotional expectation do gamblers have?
They expect gambling to boost mood or relieve stress (emotional coping).
What are cognitive biases?
Distortions in attention, memory, and thinking that influence gambling behavior.
What are the four types of cognitive biases in gambling identified by Rickwood et al. (2010)?
- Skill and judgment
- Personal traits/rituals
- Selective recall
- Illusions of control.
What is the ‘skill and judgment’ bias?
Belief that one has control or special skill when outcomes are random.
What is the ‘personal traits/rituals’ bias?
Belief that traits or rituals increase the probability of winning.
What is ‘selective recall’ in gambling?
Remembering wins and ignoring or minimizing losses.
What is an example of a distorted view in gambling?
Gambler’s fallacy – belief that a losing streak must be followed by a win.
What is self-efficacy?
Expectations about one’s ability to achieve a goal; in gambling, low self-efficacy may lead to relapse.
How does low self-efficacy contribute to gambling?
It sets up a self-fulfilling prophecy where the gambler doesn’t believe they can stop and thus continues gambling.
What research method did Mark Griffiths (1994) use?
The ‘thinking aloud’ method and introspection to study gambling thought processes.
What were the findings of Griffiths’ study?
Regular gamblers made more irrational statements and overestimated their skill compared to occasional gamblers.
What is content analysis?
Analyzing verbal data to identify categories of thought, such as irrational beliefs.
What is the gambler’s fallacy?
The mistaken belief that past losses increase the chance of future wins.
What is a semi-structured interview?
An interview with prepared questions but flexibility to explore responses in more depth.
How did regular gamblers differ from occasional ones in Griffiths’ study?
They made more irrational statements, overestimated skill, and made more attempts to win.
What is the illusion of control?
Belief that one can influence outcomes in games of chance.
What is the purpose of the Stroop task in gambling research?
To assess attention biases toward gambling-related cues.
What did McCusker and Gettings (1997) find using the Stroop task?
Addicted gamblers took longer to name ink colors of gambling words, showing attention bias.
What does research suggest about gamblers’ attention?
They have cognitive biases that make them focus more on gambling-related information.
What is a methodological issue with ‘thinking aloud’?
Participants might not truly express genuine beliefs, leading to inaccurate conclusions.
What is a further research problem in gambling studies?
Off-the-cuff remarks might reflect habit, not true beliefs about gambling.
What is the ultimate explanation critique?
That cognitive biases might not be the root cause but a consequence of biological vulnerabilities.
