| Title |
Reinforcing Small Wins and Frustrating Near-Misses: Further Investigation Into Scratch Card Gambling
|
|---|---|
| Published in |
Journal of Gambling Studies, April 2016
|
| DOI | 10.1007/s10899-016-9611-0 |
| Pubmed ID | |
| Authors |
Madison Stange, Mikyla Grau, Sandra Osazuwa, Candice Graydon, Mike J. Dixon |
| Abstract |
Scratch card games are incredibly popular in the Canadian marketplace. However, only recently have researchers started to systematically analyze their structural characteristics and how these in turn affect the gambler. We present two studies designed to further understand the underlying physiological and psychological effects that scratch cards have on gamblers. We had gamblers (63 in Experiment 1, 68 in Experiment 2) play custom made scratch cards involving a small win, a regular loss and a near-miss-where they uncovered two out of the three symbols needed to win the top prize. Our predictions were that despite near-misses and losses being objectively equivalent (the gambler wins nothing) gamblers' reactions to these outcomes would differ dramatically. During game play, skin conductance levels and heart rate were recorded, as well as how long gamblers paused between each game. Gamblers' subjective reactions to the different outcomes were then assessed. In both studies, near-misses triggered higher levels of physiological arousal (skin conductance levels and heart rates) than losses. Gamblers paused significantly longer following small wins than other outcomes, and reported high arousal, positive affect and urge to gamble-a constellation of results consistent with their rewarding properties. Importantly near-miss outcomes were rated as highly arousing, negative in emotional tone, and the most frustrating of all three outcome types examined. In Experiment 2, when we measured subjective urge to gamble immediately after each outcome, urge to gamble was significantly higher following near-misses than regular losses. Thus, despite not rewarding the gambler with any monetary gain, these outcomes nevertheless triggered higher arousal and larger urges to gamble than regular losses, a finding that may explain in part, the allure of scratch cards as a gambling activity. |
X Demographics
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Geographical breakdown
| Country | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| United States | 2 | 67% |
| Unknown | 1 | 33% |
Demographic breakdown
| Type | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Members of the public | 2 | 67% |
| Scientists | 1 | 33% |
Mendeley readers
The data shown below were compiled from readership statistics for 37 Mendeley readers of this research output. Click here to see the associated Mendeley record.
Geographical breakdown
| Country | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Netherlands | 1 | 3% |
| Unknown | 36 | 97% |
Demographic breakdown
| Readers by professional status | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Student > Ph. D. Student | 7 | 19% |
| Student > Master | 4 | 11% |
| Other | 3 | 8% |
| Student > Bachelor | 3 | 8% |
| Researcher | 3 | 8% |
| Other | 7 | 19% |
| Unknown | 10 | 27% |
| Readers by discipline | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Psychology | 15 | 41% |
| Medicine and Dentistry | 3 | 8% |
| Business, Management and Accounting | 2 | 5% |
| Computer Science | 1 | 3% |
| Nursing and Health Professions | 1 | 3% |
| Other | 4 | 11% |
| Unknown | 11 | 30% |
Attention Score in Context
This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 3. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 25 December 2021.
All research outputs
#14,913,296
of 25,371,288 outputs
Outputs from Journal of Gambling Studies
#571
of 989 outputs
Outputs of similar age
#154,144
of 313,512 outputs
Outputs of similar age from Journal of Gambling Studies
#12
of 20 outputs
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