Mood and the relationship between affect and cognition in persistent gambling

Abstract

A model to explain persistence among regular gamblers was proposed which suggested that arousal experienced during gambling elicits an illusion of control leading to overestimation of the probability of winning. It was suggested that a prior disturbed mood could retard the habituation of such arousal and thus expose the gambler to an illusion of control for longer periods. Habitual experience of this phenomenon could account for persistence in the face of repeated losses in regular gamblers. Following the collection of baseline data on mood, arousal and estimates of personal success, each subject was required to play in a club with a minimum of $4 (40 responses on a 10c machine). Subjects were then given the choice of continuing to play with their winnings and a further $2 or stopping and taking the $2 plus any winnings. Self report measures of arousal and estimates of success were obtained every 20 responses during the gambling session. Responses and wins were recorded throughout the session. Duration of arousal was found to be significantly related to persistence but level of arousal was not. No relationship was found between mood and the habituation of arousal or between estimates of success and arousal. The suggestion was made that sample limitations worked against the proposed model and further research on a homogeneous population of regular gamblers is essential if the predictions are to be tested adequately.