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Journal article
Derived Relations and Attentional Bias for Near-Misses in Slot Machines
Journal of gambling studies, Vol.First online
01/08/2025
PMID: 40748527
Appears in Recent Faculty of Health Publications
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Abstract
This study investigates the influence of derived relations on attentional bias toward near-misses in slot machine gambling, expanding on the consistent findings of the effect in gambling research. We aimed to replicate earlier findings by examining how learning to associate near-misses with a "loss" affects attentional bias to gambling-related stimuli. The study employed an experimental design in which 24 recreational gamblers were randomly assigned to one of two conditions in a relational training task: one group was trained to associate near-misses with the concept of "loss," the other with "almost." Participants engaged in a simulated slot machine game while their eye movements were tracked from which attentional bias for near-miss slot-machine outcomes was derived from eye-tracking data. The results revealed that participants who learned to associate near-misses with "loss" exhibited a significant reduction in their attentional bias for near-miss outcomes compared to those who learned to associate near-misses as being an "almost" gambling result. These findings further support problem gambling research indicating that near-misses are a potent event capable of capturing and maintaining attention, aligning with cognitive bias theories in gambling. Moreover, the study provides additional support for incentive-sensitization theory and suggests potential applications for targeted interventions in gambling disorders.
Details
- Title
- Derived Relations and Attentional Bias for Near-Misses in Slot Machines
- Creators
- Leigh D Grant - Charles Sturt UniversitySteve Provost - Southern Cross University
- Publication Details
- Journal of gambling studies, Vol.First online
- Publisher
- Springer Nature
- Grant note
- CAUL and its Member Institutions
Open Access funding enabled and organized by CAUL and its Member Institutions
- Identifiers
- 991013303523702368
- Copyright
- © The Author(s) 2025.
- Academic Unit
- School of Health and Human Sciences; Human Sciences; Faculty of Health
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Journal article