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Differences between problem and nonproblem gamblers in subjective arousal and affective valence amongst electronic gaming machine players
Simone Rodda
Addictive Behaviors, 2004
Arousal-based theories of gambling suggest that excitement gained from gambling reinforces further gambling behavior. However, recent theories of emotion conceptualize mood as comprising both arousal and valence dimensions. Thus, excitement comprises arousal with positive valence. We examined self-reported changes in arousal and affective valence in 27 problem and 40 nonproblem gamblers playing electronic gaming machines (EGMs). Problem gamblers reported greater arousal increases after gambling and increases in negative valence if they lost. This accords poorly with an excitement-based explanation of problem gambling.
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Differences in preferred level of arousal in two sub-groups of problem gamblers: A preliminary report
Alex Blaszczynski
Journal of Gambling Studies, 1995
Twelve problem poker machine players and thirteen horse race gamblers (20 males and 5 females; age range 28-69) completed a series of questionnaires which assessed levels of anxiety, their preferred state of arousal and their motivations to gamble. As predicted, problem poker machine gamblers were found to be more anxious and reported avoiding arousal more frequently than the horse race gamblers. Alternately, problem horse race gamblers were found to prefer heightened levels of arousal and appeared to gamble to achieve these optimal levels of arousal. However, there was no difference between the groups on proneness to boredom. The present results provide evidence which is consistent with the Reversal theory and its application to the field of problem gambling.
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Mark D Griffiths
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A Theoretical Model of EGM Problem Gambling: More Than a Cognitive Escape
Gavin B Sullivan
International Journal of Mental …, 2009
Although electronic gaming machine (EGM) gambling is established as a particularly risky form of gambling (Dowling, Smith and Thomas, Addiction 100:33–45, 2005), models of problem gambling continue to be generalist so factors and processes specific to EGM gambling can be overlooked. This study conducted semi-structured interviews with 13 EGM problem gamblers and six gambling counsellors and used grounded theory methods to develop a theoretical model of EGM problem gambling. The final model demonstrates the importance of both situational and structural characteristics in maintaining excessive EGM gambling. Originally a harmless pastime, EGM gambling became a means by which gamblers cognitively and physically avoided problems. EGM venues were highly accessible, had an inviting atmosphere, and were private yet companionable. Games were entertaining and distracting. Maladaptive coping habits, low social support and few alternative social spaces contributed to the reliance on gambling.
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Electronic Gaming Machine Gambling: Measuring Motivation
James Phillips
Journal of Gambling Studies, 2009
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Selective attention to emotional pictures as a function of gambling motives in problem and nonproblem gamblers
Sherry Stewart
Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 2013
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Cognitive, Dispositional, and Psychophysiological Correlates of Dependent Slot Machine Gambling in Young People
Justine Huxley
Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 1994
In Study 1, young dependent and nondependent slot machine gamblers were interviewed, assessed for locus of control and administered the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire. Dependent gamblers were revealed as reliably more internal in terms of locus of control than their nondependent counterparts, and, in the interview, were much more likely to affirm that they could exercise control over the slot machines they played. Dependent gamblers registered higher psychoticism scores than both the nondependent gamblers and appropriate age-group norms. Their high psychoticism scores resonated well with interview revelations that boredom mitigation frequent underlay dependent gambling.In Study 2, blood pressure was monitored in dependent and nondependent gamblers at rest and before, during and after slot machine play. Subjects were given £5 for this purpose and the time it took them to use up this money was recorded, as was the extent of any returns they received. They were also asked how much they expected to recoup. The £5 lasted a similar amount of time for the two groups, and they managed similar rates of return on their stake. However, the dependent gamblers expected to win more than the nondependent gamblers and their estimates of returns exceeded what they actually recouped. Slot machine play was associated with an increase in blood pressure, and while groups did not differ in terms of the magnitude of the rise provoked, there was a general trend for dependent gamblers to show lower basal levels of cardiovascular activity, although this was statistically reliable only in the case of diastolic blood pressure.
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Psychophysiological and Subjective Arousal during Gambling in Pathological and Non-pathological Video Lottery Gamblers
David Hodgins
International Gambling Studies, 2003
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The Relationship Between Anxiety, Smoking, and Gambling in Electronic Gaming Machine Players
Simone Rodda
Journal of Gambling Studies, 2004
Given higher reported rates of smoking in populations under treatment for problem gambling, in a sample of 81 Electronic Gaming Machine players, this study considered whether: 1) there were relationships between tobacco dependency and problem gambling, and 2) a common mechanism such as negative affect was involved. The untreated sample comprised eighty-one Electronic Gaming Machine players that completed the South Oaks Gambling Screen, the Tobacco Dependence Scale and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. There was a relationship between smoking status and scores on the South Oaks Gambling Screen, and negative affect contributed to both gambling problems and tobacco dependence. It was suggested that gambling problems and tobacco dependence have similar characteristics. The data has implications for treatment and anti-smoking legislation in gaming venues.
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Final Report—Winners: why do some develop gambling problems while others do not?
Nigel Turner
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