Examining Neural Reactivity to Gambling Cues in the Age of Online Betting

The goal of this review is to provide new insights as to how and why functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) research on gambling cue reactivity can contribute to significant progress towards the understanding of gambling disorder. After having offered a detailed description of experimental paradigms and a comprehensive summary of findings related to gambling cue reactivity, the present review suggests methodological avenues for future research. The fMRI literature on problem gambling has identified the main neural pathways associated with reactivity to gambling cues. Yet, the current knowledge on the key factors underlying cue reactivity in gambling is still very incomplete. Here, we suggest that the recent expansion of online sports betting calls for a new line of research offering a fine-grained and up-to-date approach of neural cue reactivity in gambling disorder. Experimental designs that investigate individual-specific and study-specific factors related to sports betting have the potential to foster progress towards efficient treatment and prevention of gambling disorder

Automatic visual-spatial perspective taking in alcohol-dependence: A study with happy emotional faces

Background: Understanding the world from another’s perspective is an important and potentially automatic human process which is crucial for efficient social interactions. However, whilst deficits have been repeatedly described for various interpersonal abilities in alcohol-dependence (AD), only one previous study has investigated perspective taking in this pathology. Aim: The aim of the current study was to explore further how AD affects visual-spatial perspective taking (VSPT) by examining the effect of positive emotional stimuli on VSPT in both an AD and non-AD sample. Methods: Reaction times (RT) for simple spatial judgements were measured. Participants made these judgements from their own perspective, but judgements were either congruent or incongruent with the perspective of another agent. The emotion conveyed by that agent (happy or neutral) was manipulated across trials. Results: Compared to baseline, both AD and non-AD groups displayed delayed RTs for spatial judgements when these were incongruent with the perspective of a happy agent (the expected VSPT RT cost, indicating automatic VSPT). The AD, but not the non-AD group, further displayed a VSPT RT cost when the agent expressed a neutral emotion. Conclusion: There was no evidence that automatic VSPT was compromised by AD. However, as in previous research, AD was associated with differences in the processing of emotional stimuli. Future research should explore which ‘real-world’ settings are likely to trigger social confusion and misunderstanding

Overcoming the unitary exploration of binge-watching: A cluster analytical approach

Background and aims: Binge-watching (i.e., watching multiple episodes of a TV series in one session) has recently become standard practice among TV series viewers; this expansion generates concerns regarding the potential negative outcomes associated with this habit. However, the investigation of its psychological correlates remains fragmentary, with few initial studies a priori conceptualizing this behavior as a new addictive disorder. This study explored these psychological correlates using cluster analysis of binge-watching behavior based on three key psychological factors: motivations, impulsivity, and emotional reactivity. Methods: An online survey was completed by 4,039 TV series viewers. Data were analyzed using hierarchical and non-hierarchical cluster analyses, the validity of the clusters being finally determined through mutual comparisons with a selection of external correlates. Results: Four clusters were identified: recreational TV series viewers (presenting low involvement in binge-watching), regulated binge-watchers (moderately involved), avid binge-watchers (presenting elevated but non-problematic involvement), and unregulated binge-watchers (presenting potentially problematic involvement associated with negative outcomes). Discussion and conclusions: This study underlines the heterogeneous and multidetermined nature of binge-watching. Our findings suggest that high engagement in binge-watching is distinct from problematic binge-watching, thus reinforcing the notion that conceptualizing binge-watching as an addictive disorder is of low relevance and might actually lead to the overpathologization of this highly popular leisure activit

Negative Affect and Problematic Binge-Watching: The Mediating Role of Unconstructive Ruminative Thinking Style

The practice of binge-watching (i.e., watching multiple episodes of TV series in one session) has become increasingly prevalent, but comprehending its nature and potential underlying factors has been challenging. In particular, problematic binge-watching remains ill-defined and conceptualized, being regarded either as an addictive behaviour or a maladaptive emotion regulation strategy. Following a process-based approach, in the current study we explored the latter conceptualization, by investigating the potential mediating role of an unconstructive ruminative thinking style between negative affect and problematic binge-watching. To this end, TV series viewers completed an online survey assessing socio-demographic variables, TV series viewing habits, binge-watching motives and engagement, ruminative thinking styles and affect. Based on their answers, participants were allocated to one of the following three groups: non-binge-watchers (n = 59), trouble-free binge-watchers (n = 85), or problematic binge-watchers (n = 162). Group comparisons and mediation analyses were conducted to explore the underlying role of unconstructive rumination in problematic binge-watching. Results showed that, apart from the pattern of TV series watching, trouble-free binge-watchers shared little to no similarity with problematic binge-watchers, therefore supporting the need to differentiate these two behaviours. Moreover, mediation analyses revealed that an unconstructive ruminative thinking style partially mediated the relationship between negative affect and coping/escapism and that it fully accounted for the relationship between negative affect and binge-watching derived positive emotions in problematic binge-watchers. These findings thus add to the notion that problematic binge-watching might serve as a way to bolster a maladaptive emotion regulation strategy, implying that unconstructive rumination acts as a mediating process in this context

On the pitfalls of conceptualizing excessive physical exercise as an addictive disorder: Commentary on Dinardi et al. (2021).

This commentary challenges some of the proposals made in the opinion paper entitled "The expanded interactional model of exercise addiction" by Dinardi, Egorov, and Szabo (2021). We first question the usefulness of the (expanded) interactional model of exercise addiction to determine the psychological processes underlying distress and functional impairment in excessive physical exercise. We then consider the authors' use of the Self-Determination Theory to model exercise addiction, which risks the misclassification of strenuous, but adaptive, patterns of physical exercise as exercise addiction. We finally address broader concerns regarding the idea that maladaptive exercising could be conceptualized as an addictive disorder

The effect of alcohol dependence on automatic visuo-spatial perspective taking

Background Alcoholism is associated with cognitive deficits that affect social functioning. Previous research has shown that alcoholism is associated with deficits in conscious, deliberate social processing. However, little is known about whether alcoholism also affects rapid, spontaneous processing. We therefore investigated the extent to which alcoholism affects the ability to spontaneously adopt the viewpoint of another in a visuo-spatial perspective taking (VSPT) task. Methods VSPT was measured in participants responding to a dot probe presented for 35 ms alongside neutral faces, fearful faces and baseline stimuli (rectangles). Results Alcohol dependent (AD) participants showed the standard reaction time cost to fearful faces, but not neutral faces relative to baseline. However, AD participants showed a reaction time cost to both fearful and neutral faces. Conclusions AD participants are not impaired in their ability to automatically adopt the perspective of another. However, unlike non-AD participants, they show automatic perspective taking to both neutral and fearful faces

Identification of emotions in mixed disgusted-happy faces as a function of depressive symptom severity

Interpersonal difficulties are common in depression, but their underlying mechanisms are not yet fully understood. The role of depression in the identification of mixed emotional signals with a direct interpersonal value remains unclear. The present study aimed to clarify this question. A sample of 39 individuals reporting a broad range of depression levels completed an emotion identification task where they viewed faces expressing three emotional categories (100% disgusted and 100% happy faces, as well as their morphed 50% disgusted - 50% happy exemplars). Participants were asked to identify the corresponding depicted emotion as "clearly disgusted", "mixed", or "clearly happy". Higher depression levels were associated with lower identification of positive emotions in 50% disgusted - 50% happy faces. The study was conducted with an analogue sample reporting individual differences in subclinical depression levels. Further research must replicate these findings in a clinical sample and clarify whether differential emotional identification patterns emerge in depression for different mixed negative-positive emotions (sad-happy vs. disgusted-happy). Depression may account for a lower bias to perceive positive states when ambiguous states from others include subtle signals of social threat (i.e., disgust), leading to an under-perception of positive social signals

Les usages des NTIC par les chercheurs travaillant en relation avec le CEDEFOP: Résultats de la visite atelier virtuelle conduite à la demande du Conseil d'Administration du Cedefop

Cette étude est le résultat d'une enquête qualitative sur les usages que les chercheurs en sciences sociales font des NTIC en terme de communication, de recherche d'informations, et de coopération. L'enquête s'est appuyée sur deux supports. D'une part le réseau EDEX, consortium de chercheurs européens financé par la DG XII dans le cadre du programme TSER du 4° PCRD, avec la participation du CEDEFOP ; et d'autre part le Comité de Rédaction de la revue ‘'Formation Professionnelle'' dont le CEDEFOP assure le secrétariat de rédaction. Elle a notamment pour objectif d'évaluer l'usage des sites Internet mis en place par ces différents supports pour améliorer l'efficacité de chacun de ceux-ci, notamment au regard des autres moyens de communication et de coopération

Toward a qualitative understanding of binge-watching behaviors: A focus group approach

Background and aims Binge-watching (i.e., seeing multiple episodes of the same TV series in a row) now constitutes a widespread phenomenon. However, little is known about the psychological factors underlying this behavior, as reflected by the paucity of available studies, most merely focusing on its potential harmfulness by applying the classic criteria used for other addictive disorders without exploring the uniqueness of binge-watching. This study thus aimed to take the opposite approach as a first step toward a genuine understanding of binge-watching behaviors through a qualitative analysis of the phenomenological characteristics of TV series watching. Methods A focus group of regular TV series viewers (N = 7) was established to explore a wide range of aspects related to TV series watching (e.g., motives, viewing practices, and related behaviors). Results A content analysis identified binge-watching features across three dimensions: TV series watching motivations, TV series watching engagement, and structural characteristics of TV shows. Most participants acknowledged that TV series watching can become addictive, but they all agreed having trouble recognizing themselves as truly being an “addict.” Although obvious connections could be established with substance addiction criteria and symptoms, such parallelism appeared to be insufficient, as several distinctive facets emerged (e.g., positive view, transient overinvolvement, context dependency, and low everyday life impact). Discussion and conclusion The research should go beyond the classic biomedical and psychological models of addictive behaviors to account for binge-watching in order to explore its specificities and generate the first steps toward an adequate theoretical rationale for these emerging problematic behaviors