Delay Discounting and Pathological Gambling

Over the past decade behavior analysts have paid increasing attention to the clin-ical phenomena of pathological gambling. Explorations have varied from ani-mal models to therapeutic interventions. Perhaps no topic has received greater attention in the behavioral gambling literature than the discounting of delayed consequences. Delay discounting has been noted as both a conceptual frame-work to understand problem gambling as well as a dependent variable by which to deduce level of pathology. Regardless of hypothesized process, discounting appears to be a topic of great interest to those within the behavioral community. This special section of the Analysis of Gambling Behavior brings together a theoretical account of problem gambling from Fantino and Stolarz-Fantino as well as fourteen commentaries from an impressive list of authors within and beyond the traditional bounds of behavior analysis. Together these articles high-light the wide range of perspectives on the causes of pathological gambling, as well as how delay discounting fits within such causal mechanisms

Why Behavior Analysts Should Study Gambling Behavior

The field of behavior analysis has been applied to solve many problems facing our society. Differential allocation of behavioral research to certain applied problems has resulted in positive changes in those areas while other areas re-main underserved. Problem and pathological gambling are areas of concern in our society which have been minimally addressed by behavior analysts. Rea-sons for the underrepresentation of research in gambling are discussed and poss-ible solutions to foster a behavioral understanding of and treatment for problem gamblers are presented

The Roulette Near-Miss Effect

The near-miss effect has been repeated documented in the published literature as a variable that impacts gambling behavior. The effect, however, has been almost exclusively studied using slot machines. The present investigation sought to explore the effect of almost winning while playing roulette. When 28 participants were given the opportunity to play roulette and rate the closeness to wins after every trial, ratings varied as a function of numerical value between number bet and number won for most players. These results extend the findings that almost winning (e.g., a near-miss effect) is present for the game of roulette and defines the parameters of such an effect. Implications for the treatment of pathological gamblers are presented

Impact of Jackpot And Near-Miss Magnitude On Rate And Subjective Probability of Slot Machine Gamblers

The present study examined the degree to which varying amounts of jackpot size would impact the rate and subjective probability of slot machine play in recrea-tional gamblers. Twenty college undergraduates who reported occasional slot machine playing served as participants. Two groups of 10 participants were utilized with each group exposed to one of two monetary contingencies ($0.50 USD versus$2.00 USD). Various behavioral measures (e.g., inter-response times, subjective probabilities) were measured on each individual trial, and re-sistance to extinction was also examined. A significant difference of trial out-come (following losses and following wins) was found in respect to inter-response time in that inter-response times were significantly greater following winning trials (i.e., spins) than losing trials, and this difference was not miti-gated by jackpot size. Jackpot size only altered responding to near-miss jack-pots during extinction conditions. Implications for the treatment of pathological gamblers are presented

Brain Activity of Recreational Golfers Under Conditions of Gambling and Non-Gambling

This research examined the behavior and corresponding brain activity of recreational golfers. Experiment 1 examined four recreational golfers’ brain activityin the absence of any task demands. Following this resting baseline, participants were then instructed to putt 10 golf balls from six feet without consequences for accuracy. Following a return to baseline, a final condition was then instituted whereby monetary compensation ($20 gift card) was made contingent upon successfully making 8 of 10 putts. As measured by EEG, levels of alpha, beta, and theta waves, increased during the putting task compared to resting states. Monetary gambling enhanced activity for participants. Experiment 2 extended these findings. It used a condition of uncertain monetary contingencies while continuing to produce similar EEG levels as noted in Experiment 1. Finally, it appears that certain activations and suppressions of brain waves may have an impact on putting accuracy, and that they may be altered when gambling for money

The Gambling Functional Assessment (GFA): An Assessment Device For Identification of The Maintaining Variables of Pathological Gambling

The present paper describes the rationale and presents an assess-ment device for the identification of functional control of patholog-ical gambling behavior. It is suggested in this paper that only through identification of function and eventual treatment based on such function will interventions for the treatment of pathological gamblers become successful. A 20-item self-report format as-sessment is presented along with the scoring key for the instru-ment. Suggestions for future research on the psychometrics of the proposed instrument are presented along with implications for use in both research and clinical treatment facilities

Satisficers and Maximizers: A Preliminary Examination of Maximization Tendencies and Slot-Machine Gambling

The present experiment investigated the relationship between maximization, or the extent to which time and effort are spent comparing options before making a choice, and the frequency of switching among concurrently available slot machines. Fourteen adults completed the Maximization Scale and were divided into groups according to maximization tendency, and then gambled hypothetical credits on slot machines of their choice. Across three phases, either 3, 6, or 14 slot machines were available to play. Results suggest those scoring as maximizers switched among available slot machines significantly more than those scoring as satisficers, and that switching among alternatives may be a behavioral correlate of maximization in a gambling context. Implications for pathological gambling and future directions are discussed

The Effect of Relational Training on the Near-Miss Effect in Slot Machine Platers

In the current study, six slot machine players were exposed to two concurrently available computer simulated slot machines (one yellow and one blue). The blue slot machine produced a high frequency of near-miss outcomes and the yellow slot produced no such outcomes. Both machines produced reinforcement on a random-ratio 10 schedule and response options were presented in a free operant paradigm. After a 50-trial exposure, participants completed multiple exemplar training and testing as well as a stimulus-sort task to form a relation between the color blue and ‘worse-than’ and then were re-exposed to the slot machine task for another 50 trials. Results indicated that four of six participants initially showed a preference for the near-miss slot machine. However following training and testing phases, four of six participants’ response allocation toward this slot decreased. The results are discussed in terms of the formal and functional properties of what is termed as the ‘near-miss’ effect

Risk As A Function of Response Effort To Gain Points

The amount of risk an individual is willing to take may be a function of the amount of work required to earn the item that is risked. Twenty-four competitive basketball players were recruited and randomly assigned to one of three groups each representing either a low, moderate, or high work requirement to earn points. Participants were then given shots of varying point values and degrees of difficulty in which to wager points. Results indicate participants who were given a low response effort to gain points took significantly more risk as evidenced by choosing shots with the least probability of success. Those that were required to earn their points took significantly less risk evidenced by choosing shots with the highest probability of success

Using Performance Feedback to Teach Video Poker Players to Gamble Better

The present investigation reports two studies that examined the performance of non-pathological recreational video poker gamblers. In the first experiment, seven participants played three types of video poker games in a within partici-pants randomized sequence design. The percentage of errors made across games revealed the game variant “Deuces Wild” yielded more frequent mistakes than “Jacks or Better” or “Bonus Poker.” The second experiment consisted of a new sample of 11 participants being exposed to “Deuces Wild” poker to initially assess error percentages. Next, participants were all provided with performance feedback regarding their play, and finally the feedback was removed to assess performance maintenance. Results suggest that all poker players were able to improve performance above baseline level, and changes were maintained when the intervention was removed