Explanations for gambling addictions

Question 1

what are the two explanations for gambling addictions

Answer 1

• learning theory
• cognitive theory

Question 2

what is the average amount of debt for someone addicted to gambling

Answer 2

£60,000

Question 3

why is gambling looked at through psychological explanations rather than biological

Answer 3

gambling is not a drug that causes biochemical changes

Question 4

what does operant conditioning say about gambling behav

Answer 4

if the behaviour is reinforced (through wins) it increases the likelihood the behaviour will be repeated

Question 5

what 4 types of rewards can people get from gambling

Answer 5

• physiological
• psychological
• social
• financial

Question 6

what are the physiological rewards people get from gambling

Answer 6

buzz from winning

Question 7

what are the psychological rewards people get from gambling

Answer 7

near miss - a buzz at the aspect of almost winning

Question 8

what are the social rewards people get from gambling

Answer 8

peer praise

Question 9

what is the problem with using operant conditioning to explain gambling

Answer 9

causes confusion due to the fact that gamblers lose more than they win so why doesn’t this punishment stop them gambling?

Question 10

what can explain why gamblers keep playing even though they lose

Answer 10

contiguity

Question 11

what is contiguity

Answer 11

the co-occurrence of an action and a reinforcement or punishment

Question 12

what does gambling being ‘time contiguous’ mean

Answer 12

the reward/positive reinforcement for gambling is immediate

Question 13

how does contiguity explain why people continue to gamble even if they lose

Answer 13

people receive immediate punishment if lose so the overall negative feeling doesn’t arise until there have been as series of losses

Question 14

what are the four different schedules of reinforcement

Answer 14

• fixed interval
• variable interval
• fixed ratio
• variable ratio

Question 15

what is fixed interval reinforcement

Answer 15

reinforcement is delivered at predictable time values

Question 16

what is variable interval reinforcement

Answer 16

reinforcement is delivered at unpredictable time intervals

Question 17

what is fixed ratio reinforcement

Answer 17

reinforcement is delivered after a predictable number of responses

Question 18

what is variable ratio reinforcement

Answer 18

reinforcement is delivered after an unpredictable number of responses

Question 19

which schedule of reinforcement is most likely to lead to gambling addiction

Answer 19

variable ratio

Question 20

what is variable ratio reinforcement most likely to lead to a gambling addiction

Answer 20

the uncertainty of the reinforcement causes more excitement

Question 21

what are the three reasons gambling is hard to give up

Answer 21

• the ‘big win’ hypothesis
• the ‘near miss’ hypothesis
• environment

Question 22

what is the big win hypothesis

Answer 22

early experiences with a potentially addictive behaviour shape long term addictive behaviour

Question 23

how can the big win hypothesis make people more likely to get addicted to gambling

Answer 23

having a ‘big win’ early in gambling career or winning streak makes them continue to gamble to repeat the early experience

Question 24

how does the near miss hypothesis encourage gambling addictions

Answer 24

losses that are ‘close’ to being wins create excitement which encourages further gambling

Question 25

how does the environment encourage gambling addictions

Answer 25

positive emotions associated with the lights and sounds that cause excitement

Question 26

how can social learning theory explain gambling behaviours

Answer 26

a child seeing their parents happiness can motivate them to try it themselves

Question 27

how does the cognitive approach see gambling behaviour

Answer 27

as a result of cognitive distortions or maladaptive thought processes

Question 28

what is the expectancy theory of gambling

Answer 28

if individuals expect the benefits of gambling to outweigh the costs, addiction is more likely

Question 29

what is the cognitive bias all gambling addicts have

Answer 29

they focus on the positive aspects of the behaviour and downplay/ignore the negatives

Question 30

what is a cognitive bias

Answer 30

an irrational belief that is unhelpful, illogical and inconsistent with our social reality, causing inappropriate behaviour

Question 31

what are the four cognitive biases associated with gambling

Answer 31

- gambler's fallacy - illusions of control - 'near miss' bias - recall bias

Question 32

what is the gamblers fallacy

Answer 32

the belief that completely random events are influenced by recent events

Question 33

give an example of the gamblers fallacy

Answer 33

believing that runs of a particular outcome (3 heads in a row) will be balanced out by the opposite outcome (3 tails)

Question 34

what are illusions of control

Answer 34

the performance of superstitious behaviours to help the gambler manipulate the event outcome in their favour

Question 35

what do gamblers with illusions of control think success is down to

Answer 35

their personal ability or skill

Question 36

what do gamblers with illusions of control think failure is down to

Answer 36

bad luck

Question 37

give an example of an illusion of control

Answer 37

wearing 'lucky pants'

Question 38

what is the near miss bias

Answer 38

belief that they are not constantly losing but constantly nearly winning

Question 39

what is the recall bias

Answer 39

tendency to remember and overestimate wins whilst forgetting about/rationalising losses

Question 40

what may individuals with recall bias believe

Answer 40

they will be rewarded for their efforts/they deserve to win - comes after losses