The Psychology of Fruit Machine Gambling

The article overviews how individuals are induced to gamble in the first place (novice), develop a perceived ability to beat the machine (perceived skill) and how they are induced to continue gambling through an array of structural characteristics aimed at different psychological aspects of the participants gambling development. The article examines the above by considering the effects of behavioural conditioning and the use of psychology whether it was intentional of fortuitous.

To consider the validity of the article it is important to examine the approach taken by the authors i.

e. it is behavioural conditioning that that induces people to start gambling and to develop an addiction. Additionally, it is important to consider what other psychological prospective could be affecting the desire to gamble on fruit machines.

For example are there biological, psychodynamic or cognitive factors or a mixture of all these theories that contribute to make people gamble regardless of their psychological, physiological and socio-economic status? In essence the behaviourist makes a number of assumptions that make us develop in to the person that we are by interacting with the environment through stimulation and reward.

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These interactions form Stimulus Response Units (SRU) or, put simply behaviour in response to an environment we are put in. The radical behaviourists first assumption is that we should be able to determine why a person behaves in a particular way because we only react that way through learning how to react (classical conditioning). This early learning is re-enforced and develops the SRU's of behaviour to the environment we are in, this has been referred to as environmental determination.

The second assumption is that this conditioning from birth from observational learning makes us react in a certain way in the absence of conscious thought i. e. without any cognitive processes. The third and arguably the most contentious assumption of behaviourism is that we can determine what makes us do something only by strictly observing our responses to situations in experimental conditions. The inner workings of the mind and emotions e. g. memory, thinking, perception, attitude and so on are considered irrelevant from the prospective of the behaviourist.

By considering other models of perspective the debate can be widened to consider what other factors may determine why some people gamble and some don't and why some people can gamble intermittently or in moderation whereas others become addicted. The extreme biological approach is like the radical behaviourist approach in that it is reductionist and deterministic. However, it does consider alternatives to classical and operant conditioning in the belief that our actions are determined by body chemistry and genetic makeup.

Research has shown that identical twins (MZ) have a greater tendency to have the same behaviours (e. g. eating disorders) as their sibling when compared to non-identical (DZ) twins. This supports the theory that we are susceptible to inherit genetic predispositions to mental disorders and environmental stressors. However, this alone does not mean we will become addicted gamblers if our parents displayed this type of addiction through genetic inheritance (nature). Neither does it mean that we can become addicted to gambling by the learning experience alone (nurture).

What it is more likely is an interaction between two or more factors e. g. that we may have a genetic predisposition towards a mental illness which is triggered by a an environmental stressor. This is supported by the diathesis-stress model which states what is inherited in some cases of mental disorder is a predisposition to be vulnerable to it, not the disorder itself.

In the case of gambling the thrill of gambling may in some cases distract the participant away from their daily stressors (e. g. work, family problems, financial problems) and react to remove rational thought and reduce the levels of adrenaline thus reducing blood pressure, heart rate and so on which gives the participant a feeling of stress relief. Once felt this likable feeling is a reward to a stimulus i. e. operant conditioning where a feeling of relief / distraction from the stress is the reward to a stimulus the thrill of playing the fruit machine. This interaction of biological (inherited predisposition) and behavioural (operant conditioning) goes to support that more than one prospective can contribute to a condition, habit, behaviour etc.