Cognitive Psychopathology of Problem Gambling

Toneatto, Tony

doi:10.3109/10826089909039417

Cited by 288 publications

(209 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…There was one lecture on the gambling fallacies that often underlie pathological gambling (e.g., Baboushkin et al, 2001;Toneatto et al, 1997;Toneatto, 1999) delivered by RW.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Does learning about the mathematics of gambling change gambling behavior?

Williams

Connolly

2006

Psychology of Addictive Behaviors

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The present research examined the influence of improved knowledge of odds and mathematical expectation on the gambling behavior of university students. A group of 198 Introductory Statistics students received instruction on probability theory using examples from gambling.One comparison group of 134 students received generic instruction on probability and a second group of 138 non-Statistics students received no mathematical instruction. Six months after the intervention, students receiving the intervention demonstrated superior ability to calculate gambling odds as well as resistance to gambling fallacies. Unexpectedly, this improved knowledge and skill was not associated with any decreases in actual gambling behavior. The implication of this research is that enhanced mathematical knowledge on its own may be insufficient to change gambling behavior. Mathematics of gambling 3Does learning about the mathematics of gambling change gambling behavior?The current generation of youth are the first to have been raised in an environment of extensive legalized and government-sanctioned gambling. Perhaps as a consequence, several surveys have found the prevalence of gambling to be higher in young adults. The lifetime rate of gambling in North American college and university students typically ranges from 70% to 94% (Adebayo, 1998;Devlin & Peppard, 1996;Engwall, Hunter, & Steinberg, 2002;Kang & Hsu, 2001;Ladouceur, Dube, & Bujold, 1994;Lesieur et al., 1991;Oster & Knapp, 1998). A recent nationally representative study of college students in the United States (LaBrie et al., 2003) found a lower prevalence, but this study was limited by low response rates and not asking about all forms of gambling. The rates of problem and pathological gambling are also high among young people. National surveys in the United States (Gerstein et al., 1999), Australia (Productivity Commission, 1999), and Sweden (Volberg et al., 2001) have found the rate of problem and pathological gambling to peak in ages 18 to 24. Similarly, a meta-analysis of all North American prevalence studies found that the 19 study samples of college students appear to have higher overall lifetime rates of problem and pathological gambling (16.4%) than either adolescents (11.8%) or adults (6.1%) (Shaffer & Hall, 2001).Educational initiatives to prevent problem gambling have recently been undertaken.These efforts have largely been spearheaded by government agencies that provide treatment for substance abuse and problem gambling. Many of these agencies have developed ongoing 'awareness campaigns' consisting of 24 hour counselling hotlines; media promotion of responsible gambling; posters/pamphlets in gaming establishments letting people know about the signs of problem gambling and where to go for help; videos on problem gambling; etc. (e.g., AADAC, 2001;Murray, 2003;Jackson et al., 2002). Some jurisdictions (e.g., Australia, Canada, Mathematics of gambling 4United States) have also introduced gambling prevention programs into the school curriculum.These include: "D...

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“…There was one lecture on the gambling fallacies that often underlie pathological gambling (e.g., Baboushkin et al, 2001;Toneatto et al, 1997;Toneatto, 1999) delivered by RW.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Does learning about the mathematics of gambling change gambling behavior?

Williams

Connolly

2006

Psychology of Addictive Behaviors

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“…For example, mindfulness may foster better calibration of risk-taking assessments. This possibility is important, given well-established empirical links between judgment and decision-making deficits and PG (Ladouceur, 2004;Toneatto, 1999). In particular, judgment and decision-making deficits reflected in the Georgia Gambling Task (GGT; Goodie, 2003), which measures overconfidence and risk-willingness, and the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT; Bechara, Damasio, Damasio, & Anderson, 1994), which measures myopic focus on reward, have demonstrated relevance in determining the severity of gambling outcomes (Bechara, 2001;Goodie, 2005;Lakey, Goodie, & Campbell, in press).…”

Section: Studymentioning

confidence: 99%

Dispositional mindfulness as a predictor of the severity of gambling outcomes

Lakey¹,

Campbell²,

Brown³

et al. 2007

Personality and Individual Differences

165

106

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Two studies were conducted to test and explain the relation of mindfulness to the severity of gambling outcomes among frequent gamblers. In both studies, dispositional mindfulness related to less severe gambling outcomes as measured by a DSM-IV-based screen for pathological gambling, even after controlling for gambling frequency and dispositional self-control. Study 2 extended this finding in showing that the association between mindfulness and lower pathological gambling was partially mediated by better performance on two risk-taking tasks that capture overconfidence, risky bet acceptance, and myopic focus on reward. These studies suggest a role for mindfulness in lessening the severity of gambling problems and making adaptive decisions, especially in risk-relevant contexts. Keywords MINDFULNESS; OVERCONFIDENCE; RISK-TAKING; GAMBLING; DECISION-MAKINGMany individuals take harmless pleasure in the risk-taking of gambling, owing to the feelings of excitement, entertainment, and challenge it affords (Neighbors & Larimer, 2004). For others, a heightened susceptibility to judgment and decision-making biases, such as intemperate riskwillingness, can lead to gambling-related problems, typified by pathological gambling (PG). PG is a clinical disorder characterized by symptoms such as preoccupation with gambling, the perceived need to gamble with increasing amounts of money to achieve the desired excitement, restlessness or irritability when attempting to reduce gambling, and "chasing" losses. Its classification as an impulse-control disorder depicts the integral role self-control plays in the development of PG, although it is widely noted to possess salient similarities to addictive disorders. With the range of deleterious consequences that accompany PG, and the recent expansion of opportunities for individuals to gamble (e.g., internet gambling sites), there is concern over the potential increase in the incidence of this disorder (Petry, 2005). Accordingly, © 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.Address correspondence to Chad E. Lakey, Department of Psychology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA,; Email:celakey@uga.edu.. Publisher's Disclaimer: This is a PDF file of an unedited manuscript that has been accepted for publication. As a service to our customers we are providing this early version of the manuscript. The manuscript will undergo copyediting, typesetting, and review of the resulting proof before it is published in its final citable form. Please note that during the production process errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain. it is important to understand specific variables that could facilitate adaptive decision-making and thereby avert severe gambling outcomes. In this research, we propose that a dispositional quality of consciousness called mindfulness might inhibit gambling-related problems and the biased judgment and decision-making processes that support them. NIH Public AccessMindfulness has been defined as a conscious a...

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“…Even if people are encoding their daily/weekly/monthly expenditures in terms of net win/loss, memories have differing valence, making them more or less available for retrieval (Tourangeau, 2000). Indeed, selective memory is a characteristic and well-documented feature of problem gambling (McCusker & Gettings, 1997;National Research Council, 1999;Toneatto, 1999;Toneatto, et al, 1997).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

‘How Much Money Do You Spend on Gambling?’ The Comparative Validity of Question Wordings Used to Assess Gambling Expenditure

Wood¹,

Williams

2007

International Journal of Social Research Methodology

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Gambling expenditure is a commonly asked question in jurisdiction-wide surveys of gambling behaviour and in surveys of household spending. However, the validity of self-reported gambling expenditure is questionable due to the fact that these expenditures usually do not match up with actual gambling revenue. The present study asked about past month gambling expenditure, in 12 different ways, to a random sample of 2424 Ontario adult gamblers. The relative validity of each question format was subsequently established by the correspondence of reported gambling expenditures with actual Ontario gambling revenue, as well as with amounts obtained by prospective diaries. Slight variations in question wording resulted in significant variation in reported expenditure amounts. However, certain question wordings elicited amounts closer to actual revenues and are therefore recommended for use in future surveys.

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Cognitive Psychopathology of Problem Gambling

Cited by 288 publications

References 22 publications

Does learning about the mathematics of gambling change gambling behavior?

Does learning about the mathematics of gambling change gambling behavior?

Dispositional mindfulness as a predictor of the severity of gambling outcomes

‘How Much Money Do You Spend on Gambling?’ The Comparative Validity of Question Wordings Used to Assess Gambling Expenditure

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