The Gambler’s Fallacy in Problem and Non-Problem Gamblers

Background and aims: Although numerous correlational studies have shown an association between cognitive distortions and problem gambling, only a few behavioral studies have investigated this topic by comparing problem (PGs) and non-problem gamblers (N-PGs). This quasi-experiment investigated the occurrence in both groups of a widespread cognitive distortion, the gambler’s fallacy (GF), using a fictitious roulette game. Moreover, it investigated whether the GF increased the bet amount and whether impulsivity and sensation seeking were associated with the GF. Methods: Two indices of the GF were used: a cognitive index, the probability estimate of each outcome (black/red) after manipulating the final run length (the same outcome occurring four times/once), and a behavioral index, the choice of the outcome on which to bet. A total of 320 (160 PGs and 160 N-PGs) unpaid male volunteers, aged between 18 and 68, participated in this study. Hypotheses: Erroneous probability estimates should mediate the effect of longer runs on the alternation choice (i.e., the choice of an outcome different from the previous one) to support the occurrence of GF. The GF should increase betting. PGs should be more prone than N-PGs to GF. Results: The choice of the outcome depended on both cognitive (erroneous probability estimates) and affective (preference for red) factors. PGs bet more than N-PGs but they were not more prone than N-PGs to incurring GF. Although impulsivity and sensation seeking were more intense in PGs than in N-PGs, they scarcely affected GF. Discussion and conclusions: Overall, our results corroborate the tested model of the GF that links mistaken probability estimates, choice of the outcome on which to bet, and bet amount. However, they are similar to PGs and N-PGs and fail to corroborate the hypothesis that the GF is more evident in PGs

Regret and Other Emotions Related to Decision-Making: Antecedents, Appraisals, and Phenomenological Aspects

Objectives: The mainstream position on regret in psychological literature is that its necessary conditions are agency and responsibility, that is, to choose freely but badly. Without free choice, other emotions, such as disappointment, are deemed to be elicited when the outcome is worse than expected. In two experiments, we tested the opposite hypothesis that being forced by external circumstances to choose an option inconsistent with one’s own intentions is an important source of regret and a core component of its phenomenology, regardless of the positivity/negativity of the post-decision outcome. Along with regret, four post-decision emotions – anger toward oneself, disappointment, anger toward circumstances, and satisfaction – were investigated to examine their analogies and differences to regret with regard to antecedents, appraisals, and phenomenological aspects. Methods: Through the scenario methodology, we manipulated three variables: choice (free/forced), outcome (positive/negative), and time (short/long time after decision-making). Moreover, we investigated whether responsibility, decision justifiability, and some phenomenological aspects (self-attribution, other attribution, and contentment) mediated the effect exerted by choice, singularly or in interaction with outcome and time, on the five emotions. Each study was conducted with 336 participants, aged 18–60. Results: The results of both studies were similar and supported our hypothesis. In particular, regret elicited by forced choice was always high, regardless of the valence of outcome, whereas free choice elicited regret was high only with a negative outcome. Moreover, regret was unaffected by responsibility and decision justifiability, whereas it was affected by the three phenomenological dimensions. Conclusion: Our results suggest that (1) the prevailing theory of regret is too binding, since it posits as necessary some requirements which are not; (2) the antecedents and phenomenology of regret are broader than it is generally believed; (3) decision-making produces a complex emotional constellation, where the different emotions, singularly and/or in combination, constitute the affective responses to the different aspects of decision-making

To Chase or not to Chase: A Study on the Role of Mentalization and Alcohol Consumption in Chasing Behavior

Background and aims: Chasing is a behavioral marker and a diagnostic criterion for gambling disorder. Although chasing has been recognized to play a central role in gambling disorder, research on this topic is relatively scarce. This study investigated the association between chasing, alcohol consumption, and mentalization among habitual gamblers. Method: A total of 132 adults took part in the study. Participants were administered the South Oaks Gambling Screen, the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test, the Reflective Functioning Questionnaire, and a laboratory task assessing chasing behavior. Participants were randomly assigned to three experimental conditions (Control, Loss, and Win). To deeply investigate chasing behavior, participants were requested to indicate the reasons for stopping or continuing playing at the end of the experimental session. Results: Logistic regression analysis showed that the choice to stop or continue playing depended on experimental condition and alcohol use. Hierarchical linear regression indicated that chasing propensity was affected by experimental condition, alcohol consumption, and deficit in mentalization. The results of path analysis showed that hypermentalizing predicts chasing not only directly, but also indirectly via alcohol consumption. Conclusions: Overall, these results for the first time showed that hypermentalization plays a key role in chasing behavior over and above gambling severity. Since these findings support the idea that chasers and non-chasers are different subtypes of gamblers, clinical interventions should consider the additive role of chasing in gambling disorder

La regolazione cognitiva delle emozioni: il reappraisal

Il modello dominante nella linea di ricerca sulla regolazione delle emozioni – tendente ad indagare come le persone, in maniera consapevole o inconsapevole, modulano le emozioni per adattarle ai propri obiettivi e interessi – è basato sulla regolazione cognitiva delle emozioni che ha visto nel «reappraisal», la modificazione del significato attribuito a un evento emotigeno, la modalità privilegiata di controllo emozionale. La formulazione di questo costrutto avviene nel quadro della linea di ricerca su stress e «coping» che, a sua volta, la mutua in parte dalle teorie cognitive delle emozioni, in parte dalla teoria psicoanalitica dei meccanismi di difesa dell’Io. La derivazione da queste tradizioni di ricerca riguarda però l’intero ambito concettuale della regolazione delle emozioni che presenta tuttora con esse, soprattutto con il «coping», ampie regioni di intersezione. Il «reappraisal» viene pertanto illustrato come modalità di «coping» e di regolazione emozionale, sia dal punto di vista teorico sia da quello dell’efficacia pratica

Use and effectiveness of three modalities of emotion regulation after negative life events: Rumination, distraction and social sharing

This study assessed the extent and efficacy of three regulatory modalities of the emotions elicited by negative life events: rumination, distraction and social sharing. Despite the wide literature existing on this subject, to my knowledge this is the first study comparing these regulatory modalities, from adolescence to old age, in order to estimate their use and their effectiveness in function of the significance of the negative event and of the participants' gender and age. Eight hundred persons (400 female, 400 male) participated in this study: 200 adolescents (13-19); 200 young people (20-29); 200 adults (30-59); 200 old people (60- 89). They were randomly assigned to two research conditions: very significant vs. not very significant negative life events. Participants were asked to describe a very important negative life event or a not very important one and assess on 7-point scales when the event occurred, its appraisal, perceived importance and impact upon their beliefs, emotional intensity, the extent of rumination, distraction and social sharing, along with their relative frequency and duration, and their effectiveness to re-establish cognitive equilibrium and modulate the negative emotional burden; finally, the recovery from the event was assessed. Qualitative data were treated through log-linear analyses. Quantitative data were first reduced by performing principal component analyses and then submitted to mediational regression analyses to evaluate the incidence of event significance on the three regulatory modalities through mediator variables (referred to the perceived cognitive and emotional event impact), controlling for gender and age. Finally, multiple regression analysis was performed to assess the effectiveness of rumination, distraction and social sharing in recovering from the event. In brief, results showed that the significant events produced a higher cognitive and emotional impact than the less significant ones. Such impact, in turn, elicited a greater use of rumination and social sharing, a more consistent sense of pervasiveness of rumination and paradoxical effect of distraction. Instead, a suppression effect emerged on the use and perceived effectiveness of distraction. The recovery from the event was positively predicted by the temporal distance from the event and the perceived effectiveness of rumination and social sharing, whereas it was negatively predicted by the use and extent of rumination, the cognitive impact of the event and the paradoxical effect of distraction. Females were more affected by the event impact and resorted to rumination and social sharing more than males. With age the use of social sharing and distraction grew. The theoretical implications of these results are discussed

Evolutionary Psychology and Human Reasoning: Testing the Domain-Specificity Hypothesis through Wason Selection Task

Abstract The better performance in the selection task with deontic rules, compared to the descriptive version, has been interpreted by evolutionary psychologists as the evidence that human reasoning has been shaped to deal with either global or specific deontic norms. An alternative hypothesis is that the two types of rules have been embedded in two different forms of reasoning, about and from a rule, the former demanding more complex cognitive processes. In a between-subjects study with 640 participants we manipulated the content of the rule (deontic vs. social contract vs. precaution vs. descriptive) and the type of task (reasoning about, traditionally associated to indicative tasks, vs. reasoning from, traditionally associated to deontic tasks). Results showed that the better performance is independent of the content of the rule and is associated to the "reasoning from" task

Antecedenti situazionali delle emozioni negative in adulti e adolescenti del Nord e del Sud d’Italia

Obiettivo del presente lavoro è quello di individuare i nuclei di significato emozionale attribuiti da adulti e adolescenti del Nord e del Sud d’Italia a sei emozioni negative (senso di colpa, gelosia, paura, rabbia, tristezza e vergogna). 400 soggetti, equidistribuiti rispetto alle variabili fascia d’età, genere sessuale e area geografica, hanno compilato, per ciascuno dei sei termini emotivi, un questionario relativo alla descrizione dei corrispondenti episodi elicitanti e alla valutazione di alcune dimensioni fenomenologiche (collocazione temporale dell’episodio, durata e intensità dell’emozione). Gli episodi raccolti sono stati sottoposti a un’analisi del contenuto volta ad individuare i nuclei semantici sottesi alle emozioni considerate (categorie di antecedenti). I risultati delle analisi evidenziano che le sei emozioni sono discriminabili sulla base di specifiche categorie di antecedenti situazionali e delle caratteristiche fenomenologiche considerate. Inoltre, sia le dimensioni fenomenologiche sia le categorie situazionali tipiche delle sei emozioni si differenziano in funzione dell’età dei soggetti e della loro provenienza geografico-culturale, mentre la variabile di genere presenta una minore influenza. Sulla base dei dati ottenuti, sono stati infine discussi i punti di concordanza e discordanza con le ricerche in ambito evolutivo e transculturale