The relation between personal relative deprivation and the urge to gamble among gamblers is moderated by problem gambling severity: A meta-analysis

One psychosocial factor that has been identified to motivate gambling is personal relative deprivation (PRD), which refers to resentment stemming from the belief that one is deprived of a desired and deserved outcome compared to some referent. Although several lines of evidence point to a positive association between PRD and the urge to gamble, the factors that might moderate this relation have yet to be investigated. Through a quantitative research synthesis, we sought to test (a) the overall relation between PRD and gambling urges among people reporting recent gambling experience, and (b) whether this relation is moderated by problem gambling severity. Meta-analysis revealed that, overall, higher self-reported PRD was associated with stronger urges to gamble (r= .26). A meta-regression revealed that, across studies, the strength of this relation depended on problem gambling severity, such that the relation between PRD and gambling urges was stronger among samples higher in average problem gambling severity. This pattern was corroborated by an analysis of the aggregated individual participant data (N= 857), such that PRD predicted gambling urges only among participants higher in problem gambling severity. The potential practical implications and limitations of these results are discussed

Me, Myself, and Money II: Relative Deprivation Predicts Disordered Gambling Severity via Delay Discounting, Especially Among Gamblers Who Have a Financially Focused Self-Concept

In the current research, we examined whether the known link between relative deprivation and disordered gambling (via delay discounting; i.e., preferences for immediate smaller rewards relative to delayed larger rewards) is moderated by the extent to which gamblers have a financially focused self-concept. Specifically, we hypothesized that delay discounting would be a strong predictor of disordered gambling among those who base their self-worth on their financial success. To test this moderated-mediation model, a community sample of gamblers (N = 239) completed measures that assessed relative deprivation, delay discounting, financially focused self-concept, and disordered gambling severity. As predicted, people who felt more relative deprivation reported more severe symptoms of disordered gambling and this association was mediated by delay discounting. Importantly, this mediated relationship was moderated by the extent to which participants’ self-concept was focused on financial success. Among participants whose self-concept was high in financial focus, greater delay discounting (stemming from relative deprivation) was a strong predictor of disordered gambling. Among people whose self-concept was low in financial focus, delay discounting (stemming from relative deprivation) was a weak predictor of disordered gambling. Thus, the magnitude of the indirect effect of relative deprivation on disordered gambling severity was larger among people with a more financially focused self-concept—an effect mediated by delay discounting. These findings suggest that targeting gamblers’ financial focus in prevention and treatment interventions may be instrumental in curtailing the development and

Foregoing the labor for the fruits: The effect of just world threat on the desire for immediate monetary rewards

Previous theorizing and research suggest that the need to believe in a just world develops when children begin to understand the benefits of foregoing their immediate gratifications for more desirable, long-term outcomes. Drawing on this previous work, we propose that an extant just world threat may induce a desire for smaller, immediate rewards at the expense of larger, delayed rewards. Participants were exposed to the suffering of an innocent or non-innocent victim and then, in a different context, completed a temporal discounting task that assessed, across six time delays, their preferences for smaller, immediate monetary rewards versus a constant, larger, delayed reward. Consistent with our reasoning, participants exposed to the suffering of an innocent versus non-innocent victim more steeply discounted the value of the delayed reward-that is, they were willing to accept smaller immediate rewards in place of the larger, delayed reward. The theoretical and practical implications of these results are discussed. © 2008 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved

Probability discounting among gamblers: Differences across problem gambling severity and affect-regulation expectancies

There is an established link between risk-seeking behavior and problem gambling but it remains unclear whether problem gamblers are specifically attracted to the uncertainty of risky situations. We examined the relation between problem gambling severity and probabilistic discounting of monetary gains and losses among gamblers. Fifty-nine regular gamblers completed two discounting tasks in which they made choices between small, certain outcomes and larger, probabilistic outcomes. Contrary to our hypotheses, results showed that problem gambling severity did not relate to either type of discounting which is inconsistent with the idea that problem gamblers have a general tendency towards more risky choices relative to non-problem gamblers. Participants also completed the Gambling Expectancy Questionnaire (GEQ) that assesses affect-regulation expectancies of gambling. Based on responses to the GEQ, participants were subtyped into one of three groups and degree of discounting was compared across groups. Participants subtyped as having strong expectations that gambling augments positive mood made significantly riskier choices on both discounting tasks versus those subtyped as having strong expectations that gambling relieves negative mood and those subtyped as having neither expectation. This finding suggests that viewing gambling as a way to enhance positive mood may be related to the risk-taking element of gambling. © 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Personal relative deprivation, delay discounting, and gambling.

Several lines of research have provided evidence for a relation between personal relative deprivation and gambling. Despite this knowledge, little is known about possible psychological mechanisms through which personal relative deprivation exerts its influence on gambling. The authors of this research sought to examine one such mechanism: the desire for immediate rewards. Using complementary approaches to studying psychological mechanisms, they tested in four studies the general hypothesis that personal relative deprivation translates into gambling urges and behavior in part via increased desires for immediate, even if smaller, rewards. Study 1 showed that an experimental manipulation of personal relative deprivation increased participants' preferences for smaller-sooner over larger-later rewards during a delay-discounting task. Studies 2 and 3 showed that a decreased willingness to delay gratification led to increased gambling behavior. Study 4 showed that preferences for smaller-sooner over larger-later rewards statistically mediated the relation between self-reported personal relative deprivation and gambling urges among a community sample of gamblers. The implications and potential applications of these findings are discussed. © 2011 American Psychological Association

PROBABILITY DISCOUNTING OF GAINS AND LOSSES: IMPLICATIONS FOR RISK ATTITUDES AND IMPULSIVITY

Sixty college students performed three discounting tasks: probability discounting of gains, probability discounting of losses, and delay discounting of gains. Each task used an adjusting-amount procedure, and participants' choices affected the amount and timing of their remuneration for participating. Both group and individual discounting functions from all three procedures were well fitted by hyperboloid discounting functions. A negative correlation between the probability discounting of gains and losses was observed, consistent with the idea that individuals' choices on probability discounting tasks reflect their general attitude towards risk, regardless of whether the outcomes are gains or losses. This finding further suggests that risk attitudes reflect the weighting an individual gives to the lowest-valued outcome (e.g., getting nothing when the probabilistic outcome is a gain or actually losing when the probabilistic outcome is a loss). According to this view, risk-aversion indicates a tendency to overweight the lowest-valued outcome, whereas risk-seeking indicates a tendency to underweight it. Neither probability discounting of gains nor probability discounting of losses were reliably correlated with discounting of delayed gains, a result that is inconsistent with the idea that probability discounting and delay discounting both reflect a general tendency towards impulsivity

Gambling as a Search for Justice: Examining the Role of Personal Relative Deprivation in Gambling Urges and Gambling Behavior

The present article explores the hypothesis that gambling might serve a justice-seeking function for some people, as gambling might offer a means to pursuing desirable outcomes that people feel they deserve but might be unable or unwilling to attain through conventional means. In Study 1, across two separate samples, self-reports of personal relative deprivation predict problem gambling and gambling urges over and above relevant control variables. In Study 2, the authors manipulate personal relative deprivation by informing participants that they have either less or more discretionary income than “similar others.” They then give participants $20 and the opportunity to gamble. The results show that a greater percentage of participants who are “relatively deprived” (vs. “not relatively deprived”) opt to gamble. Two manipulation validation studies demonstrate that the “relatively deprived” participants are preoccupied with justice during a modified Stroop task and feel resentful. Implications for understanding why people gamble are discussed. </jats:p