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

Dixon, Mark R.

English

St. Cloud State University

Analysis of Gambling Behavior Volume 1 Issue 1 Article 1 1-1-2007 Why Behavior Analysts Should Study Gambling Behavior Mark R. Dixon Southern Illinois University, mdixon@siu.edu Follow this and additional works at: https://repository.stcloudstate.edu/agb  Part of the Applied Behavior Analysis Commons, Clinical Psychology Commons, Experimental Analysis of Behavior Commons, and the Theory and Philosophy Commons Recommended Citation Dixon, Mark R. (2007) "Why Behavior Analysts Should Study Gambling Behavior," Analysis of Gambling Behavior: Vol. 1 : Iss. 1 , Article 1. Available at: https://repository.stcloudstate.edu/agb/vol1/iss1/1 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by theRepository at St. Cloud State. It has been accepted for inclusion in Analysis of Gambling Behavior by an authorized editor of theRepository at St. Cloud State. For more information, please contact tdsteman@stcloudstate.edu. Analysis of Gambling Behavior 2007, 1, 1-3 Number 1 (Summer 2007) 1  WHY BEHAVIOR ANALYSTS SHOULD STUDY GAMBLING  BEHAVIOR  Mark R. Dixon Southern Illinois University   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.   Keywords: pathological gambling, addiction, behavioral therapy, applied be-havior analysis ________________   In the opening pages of the first issue of the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, it was made clear that the science of behavior analysis could be used and should be used to solve problems that faced our culture (Baer, Wolf, & Risley, (1968).  During the past 40 years, advances have been made in a number of applied arenas such as developmental dis-abilities, autism, organizational behavior, and education.  However, other critical problems exist in our society that appears relatively un-tapped by behavioral psychologists, behavior-al therapists, and behavior analysts.  One such problem is gambling.   With prevalence rates of 1-3% of the population (National Gam-bling Impact Study Commission, 1999), pa-thological gambling is nearly 100 times more prevalent than of autism.  Our society has cul-tural epidemic on our hands.    __________ Address Correspondence to: Mark R. Dixon, PhD, BCBA Behavior Analysis and Therapy Program Rehabilitation Institute Southern Illinois University Carbondale, IL 62901 E-Mail: mdixon@siu.edu  Pathological gambling has not been ig-nored by the rest of social science.  Theories abound as to what causes problem or patho-logical gambling.  They include medical models of chemical imbalances (Kim, Grant, Adson, Shin, & Zaninelli, 2002), genetic mu-tations or predispositions (Lobo & Kennedy, 2006), sociological influences, cognitive processing errors (Toplak et al., 2007), or combinations of any of the above.   During the past ten years the number of published articles archived in the PsychINFO database with the key word “Pathological Gambling” has grown substantially.  In 1997 there were 29 papers published and in 2006 there were 142 papers published.  This publication trend snapshot suggests that while behavioral re-searchers allocate their investigative activity to other domains, many others in science are exploring the behavior of gambling.  Allowing non-behavioral researchers to “solve” the gambling problem or explain the causes and cures of pathological gambling is unfortunate.  Consequently behavior analysts will find themselves defending an unknown or unpopular position that may be at odds with growing accepted conceptualizations of 1Dixon: Why Behavior Analysts Should Study Gambling BehaviorPublished by theRepository at St. Cloud State, 20072 MARK R. DIXON  the disorder.  Furthermore, as behavior ana-lysts arrive late in the game, they will find themselves not being taken seriously and con-sidered novices in an area of seasoned gam-bling “experts.”  It is not necessarily the case that non-behavioral researchers will have nothing to offer, indeed they will.  However, the types of research questions that are asked and how the data are explained by these non-behavioral scientists will surely differ from those schooled more principally in the beha-vior sciences.     The reasons for why behavior analysts have yet to make a meaningful and substantial contribution to the field of gambling are open to speculation.  No true assessment has been conducted, and explaining causes for a beha-vior that did not occur is difficult if not im-possible.  Exploration into the “whys” and “why nots” of our field are warranted.  At first glance it appears that researchers tend to allocate their responding to those options re-sulting in reinforcement.  Such an analysis makes behavioral sense.  Given the lack of funding for gambling research compared to research in developmental disabilities, educa-tion, or drug addiction, failed funding at-tempts would be considered failures to obtain sought after reinforcers.  Without funding, the resulting research projects may be of minimal scope, fail to produce meaningful outcomes, and only found acceptable for publication in low impact journals.  Again, the reinforcers seem lacking.  Subsequent consequences re-sult in poor merit reviews, risking tenure, and promotion.  Compounded with the complica-tions of using a clinical population for re-search purposes, attempting to generalize col-lege student behavior to pathological gam-blers, having people “gamble” in a laboratory, or capturing the gambling experience in ana-logue situations, it is reasonable to speculate that behavior analysts will find reinforcers elsewhere much more densely and immediate-ly.    There are two types of solutions which can result in more behavior analysts contributing to an understanding of pathological gambling and gambling behavior more generally.  The first type of solution is to provide a high pro-file, scientifically rigorous, peer reviewed journal that promotes behavioral research on gambling.  This journal is such an outlet.  In this first issue readers will see a wide range of authors, research methods, and data that sug-gest behavior analysts do in fact have some-thing to contribute to the field of gambling.  Add to this an editorial board of well res-pected scientists, a fast editorial turnaround process, and open access format to ensure high publicity of publications.   The second type of solution is a bit more delayed, probabilistic, and risky; much like gambling itself.  The solution is to make be-havior analysts realize that there are many individuals suffering from gambling disorders that could stand to benefit from the types of scientific outcomes that behavioral research-ers could potentially produce.  Our scientific rigor lends itself to discovering cause and ef-fect relationships among events better than other sciences.  The dismissal of constructs, internal mediators, and hunches, is what sepa-rates behavior analysts from many other dis-ciplines and pseudo scientists studying gam-bling presently.  We have the skills that can change lives, and as a result, should use them as best we can.  Finally, we have a rich histo-ry in pure basic science.  Embracing that la-boratory foundation is critical to generating applied solutions to pathological gambling.  As a result, the journal will span the field of behavioral science, from theory to practice, from basic to applied, and from individual to cultural.  Only by acknowledging the breadth of our science and publishing the wide range of findings in one outlet can we have a unified voice in the gambling community.    There is considerable room for an addi-tional outlet for gambling research, and spe-cifically an outlet that is dedicated to the 2Analysis of Gambling Behavior, Vol. 1 [2007], Iss. 1, Art. 1https://repository.stcloudstate.edu/agb/vol1/iss1/13 WHY BEHAVIOR ANALYSTS SHOULD STUDY GAMBLING BEHAVIOR  scientific analysis of gambling. To date, a scientific-based journal dedicated to gambling that explores the phenomena in attempts to understand causes for the behavior has been lacking.  Thus, I proudly present to you the first issue of the Analysis of Gambling Beha-vior.    REFERENCES Baer, D. M., Wolf, M. M., & Risley, T. R. (1968). Some current dimensions of applied behavior anal-ysis. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 1, 91-97. Lobo, D. S. S., & Kennedy, J. L. (2006).  The genetics of gambling and behavioral addictions. CNS Spec-trums, 11(12) 931-939.  National Gambling Impact Study Commission (1999). National Gambling Impact Study Commission final report. Retrieved January 20, 2007, from http://www.ncfpc.org/NGISC%20Final%20Report/4.pdf Toplak, M. E, Liu, E., Macpherson, R., Toneatto, T., & Stanovich, K. E.  (2007). The reasoning skills and thinking dispositions of problem gamblers: A dual-process taxonomy. Journal of Behavioral Decision Making, 20(2), 103-124.    3Dixon: Why Behavior Analysts Should Study Gambling BehaviorPublished by theRepository at St. Cloud State, 2007

Why Behavior Analysts Should Study Gambling Behavior

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Why Behavior Analysts Should Study Gambling Behavior

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