Online gambling advertising and the third-person effect: a pilot study

Gambling disorder is known to have a negatively detrimental impact on affected individual’s physical and psychological health, social relationships, and finances. Via remote technologies (e.g., Internet, mobile phones, and interactive television), gambling has come out of gambling venues and has brought the potential for online gambling to occur anywhere (e.g., the home, the workplace, and on the move). Alongside the rise of online gambling, online gambling advertising have spread throughout all type of media. In a sample of 201 Spanish university students, the present study explored the perceived influence of online gambling advertising. More specifically it examined the Third-Person Effect (TPE), and its consequences on individuals' willingness to support censorship or public service advertising. The findings demonstrate that despite the difference on the perception of the effects of online gambling advertising, it scarcely accounts for the behavioural outcomes analysed. On the contrary, awareness of problem gambling and, above all, paternalistic attitudes appear to explain this support

Female Gamers:

International evidence indicates that the number of females involved in video-gaming is increasing. Within the context of this increase, there is a need to explore the experiences of this group of gamers in detail. This study explored female experiences of playing video-games. Data were collected from an online discussion forum dedicated to video-gaming; the sample comprised of posts drawn from 409 discussion threads. Thematic analysis of the discussions suggests that gaming is a key element of the female gamers’ identity, with females discussing the integration of gaming into their daily lives on a number of different levels. Similar to previous research, social elements of gaming is highlighted with simultaneous difficulties with online interaction emphasised. These themes are discussed in relation to relevant research in the area, along with recommendations for future research and consideration of possible explanations for the themes observed

MEG correlates of temporal regularity relevant to pitch perception in human auditory cortex

We recorded neural responses in human participants to three types of pitch-evoking regular stimuli at rates below and above the lower limit of pitch using magnetoencephalography (MEG). These bandpass filtered (1–4 kHz) stimuli were harmonic complex tones (HC), click trains (CT), and regular interval noise (RIN). Trials consisted of noise-regular-noise (NRN) or regular-noise-regular (RNR) segments in which the repetition rate (or fundamental frequency F0) was either above (250 Hz) or below (20 Hz) the lower limit of pitch. Neural activation was estimated and compared at the senor and source levels. The pitch-relevant regular stimuli (F0 = 250 Hz) were all associated with marked evoked responses at around 140 ms after noise-to-regular transitions at both sensor and source levels. In particular, greater evoked responses to pitch-relevant stimuli than pitch-irrelevant stimuli (F0 = 20 Hz) were localized along the Heschl's sulcus around 140 ms. The regularity-onset responses for RIN were much weaker than for the other types of regular stimuli (HC, CT). This effect was localized over planum temporale, planum polare, and lateral Heschl's gyrus. Importantly, the effect of pitch did not interact with the stimulus type. That is, we did not find evidence to support different responses for different types of regular stimuli from the spatiotemporal cluster of the pitch effect (∼140 ms). The current data demonstrate cortical sensitivity to temporal regularity relevant to pitch that is consistently present across different pitch-relevant stimuli in the Heschl's sulcus between Heschl's gyrus and planum temporale, both of which have been identified as a “pitch center” based on different modalities

Videogames as therapy: an updated selective review of the medical and psychological literature

There is a long history of using videogames in a therapeutic capacity including rehabilitation for stroke patients, people with traumatic brain injuries, burns victims, wheelchair users, Erb’s palsy sufferers, children undergoing chemotherapy, children with muscular dystrophy, autistic children and individuals looking to overcome real-life challenges (including symptoms of depression) and boost their wellbeing (including boosting life satisfaction, self-efficacy and social support). This paper briefly and selectively examines a number of areas including: (1) videogames as physiotherapy and occupational therapy, (2) videogames as distractors in the role of pain management, (3) videogames and cognitive rehabilitation, (4) videogames and the development of social and communication skills among the learning disabled, (5) videogames and impulsivity/attention deficit disorders, (6) videogames and therapeutic benefits in the elderly, (7) videogames in psychotherapeutic settings, (8) videogames and health care, (9) videogames and anxiety disorders, and (10) videogames and psychological wellbeing. It is concluded that there has been considerable success when games are specifically designed to address a specific problem or to teach a certain skill. However, generalizability outside the game-playing situation remains an important consideration

Poker gambling virtual communities: the use of computer-mediated communication to develop cognitive poker gambling Skills

Internationally, the prevalence of online poker gambling is estimated to be between one percent and eight percent of the general adult population. In relation to these estimated prevalence rates, the potential for addictive behaviour and the paucity of theory, online poker is an important concern for public health. Individuals may seek knowledge that will assist in developing poker gambling skill via virtual community interactions. In this paper, the authors use a virtual ethnography design to observe knowledge creation, transfer, and retrieval processes within a poker-focused virtual community. The paper develops current knowledge and understanding of how computer-mediated communication (CMC) is used by poker gamblers to develop their executive cognitive skills and enhance their proficiency. Two independent poker gambling virtual communities were observed for a six-month period. Data were collected through participant observation, and content analysis was used to identify emergent themes. Two central behavioural themes emerged from the participant observation (i.e., ‘Experiential Reporting’ and ‘Development of Poker Skill’). The implications of poker gambling knowledge creation, transfer, and retrieval via CMC on responsible gambling are also discussed. Internationally, the prevalence of online gambling is currently estimated between 1.2% and 8.1% of the general adult population (LaPlante, Kleschinsky, LaBrie, Nelson, & Shaffer, 2009). Crucially, the increasing participation rates in poker gambling (LaPlante et al., 2009) renders online poker gambling an important area of research and worthy of detailed investigation. It has been hypothesised that the structural and situational characteristics of online poker may act as risk factors for the development and maintenance of problem gambling (Griffiths, Parke, Wood, & Parke, 2006; Griffiths, Parke, Wood, & Rigbye, 2010; Wood, Griffiths, & Parke, 2007). Fundamental to the concern regarding online poker as a potential risk factor for problem gambling is the capacity for skill to influence gambling outcomes. According to Dickerson (1993), gambling activities that require skill, or at least are perceived to be influenced by player skill, are more likely to cause impaired control and motivate further gambling despite experiencing loss. From a problem gambling perspective, Toneatto, Blitz-Miller, Calderwood, Dragonetti, and Tsanos (1997) found that in a population of problem gamblers, the more a gambling activity was related to skill, the greater the amount of cognitive disorders were identified. Fundamentally, a large number of research studies clearly show that there is a strong relationship between perception of control (i.e., the impact of perceived gambling skill) and motivation to gamble (Griffiths, 1994; Ladouceur & Mayrand, 1987; Langer, 1975, 1978; Rogers, 1998). The objective of this research study was to explore the use of Computer-Mediated Communication (CMC) in developing poker skill by identifying behavioural processes observed within online poker virtual communities. It was anticipated that through analysis of observational data, the potential relationship between online poker skill development via CMC, and cognitive biases related to problem gambling (i.e., illusion of control) would be provided, and therefore produce impetus and direction for future research. Poker, in contrast to most gambling activities, is a game that has scope for the player’s behaviour to influence the success of the wager because of the existing non-random parameters within the game structure. The present study focused on the poker variant Texas Hold’em, which is the most prevalent poker game being participated in online, and also it is considered to be the most strategically complex poker variant that is widely available (Billings, Davidson, Schaeffer, & Szafron, 2002). It is proposed that probability of success in poker gambling is determined by a combination of application of partial mathematical analyses (i.e., mathematical analyses with imperfect information, and ad hoc expert experience (Sklansky & Malmuth, 1994). Expert experience in poker gambling is a difficult concept to satisfactorily define. Fundamentally, expert experience relates to various cognitive interpretational and representational skills required to be a successful poker player. Billings et al. (2002) have identified five required attributes that need to be included in an algorithm that would provide strategy to enable a poker gambler to perform at a very high level. These attributes are Hand Strength, Hand Potential, Bluffing, Unpredictability, and Opponent Modeling