Exploring the Motivational and Emotional Aspects of Gambling

本提案调查了参与两种非常流行的活动即赌博和游戏的动机和情感后果。任何玩刮刮卡的人都经历过“差一点”中头奖的挫败感。例如，我们已经证明，获得赢得大奖所需的三个符号中的两个是刮刮卡中非常常见的结果，这会导致挫败感，但也会促使人们购买更多的卡片。在这里，我们将展示这些所谓的“差一点”的挫败感不仅会影响我们的感觉，还会导致生理唤醒的增加。这一点很重要，因为唤起的增加被认为是赌博行为的核心强化因素之一。我们将在不同类型的刮刮卡游戏中检查这些侥幸的情感后果。在我们对老虎机的调查中，我们发现经常玩老虎机的玩家喜欢玩游戏的原因之一是他们进入了一种不寻常的高度集中注意力的状态，他们称之为“区域”。在这个区域，玩家除了游戏之外什么都不记得了。随着时间的推移，他们会经历扭曲。他们的描述让人想起“心流”状态，这种状态被认为与积极的“高峰”体验有关。因为在赌博环境中，忘记除了游戏之外的一切，没有意识到已经过去了多少时间会产生负面后果（即花费比预期更多的时间和金钱）。在承认这些负面后果时，我们将这种状态称为“暗流”。对心流状态的研究表明，当技能和挑战达到最佳平衡时，就能达到心流状态。如果游戏太简单，就会让人觉得无聊；如果游戏太难，就会让人受挫。如果它具有挑战性，但玩家可以在游戏中前进，那么它就会产生心流。我们将着眼于游戏和赌博环境中的心流。在一系列研究中，我们将以大受欢迎的游戏《Candy Crush》为背景来研究心流。这款游戏具有技巧元素，并且随着玩家的前进难度也会增加。我们认为这款游戏如此受欢迎的一个因素便是它能够诱导心流。我们还将研究电子游戏和扑克中的（暗）流。最后一项调查将是探索一种包含技能元素的新型老虎机。我们将探讨在标准老虎机游戏中添加技能组件是否会加剧暗流。我们的研究对涉及老虎机和其他形式赌博的法规的政策有直接的影响。它还将为本科生和研究生提供培训机会，让他们学习实验技术，并最终学习如何制定政策。

This proposal investigates the motivational and emotional consequences of engaging in two very popular activities namely gambling and gaming. Anyone who has played scratch cards has experienced the frustration of “just missing” winning the jackpot. We have shown that for example getting two of the three symbols needed to win a large prize is a very common outcome in scratch cards that leads to feelings of frustration, but also the motivation to buy more cards. Here we will show that the frustration of these so called “near-misses” not only affects how we feel but also leads to increases in physiological arousal. This is important because arousal increases have been thought of as one of the central reinforcers of gambling behavior. We will examine the emotional consequences of these near-misses in different types of scratch card games. In our slot machine investigations we have documented that one of the reasons frequent players enjoy playing is because they enter an unusual state of hyper-focused attention that they call “the zone”. While in this zone players forget about everything else except the game. They experience distortions in the passage of time. Their descriptions are reminiscent of “flow” states which are thought to be related to positive “peak” experiences. Because in the gambling context forgetting all else except the game and not realizing how much time has passed has negative consequences (i.e., spending more time and money than intended). In acknowledgement of these negative consequences we refer to this state as “dark flow”. Research on flow states suggests that they are achieved when there is an optimal balance of skill and challenge. If a game is too easy it will be boring, if it is too hard it will be frustrating. If it is challenging but players can advance in the game it induces flow. We will look at flow in gaming and gambling contexts. In one series of studies we will investigate flow in the context of the hugely popular game Candy Crush. This game has elements of skill and as players advance difficulty increases. We propose that one of the factors that makes this game so popular is that it induces flow. We will also look at (dark) flow in video games and in poker. A final line of investigation will be to explore a new class of slot machines that include elements of skill. We will explore whether the addition of skill components to standard slots games exacerbates dark flow. Our research has direct implications for policy involving the regulations surrounding slot machines and other forms of gambling. It also will provide training opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students seeking to learn experimental techniques and ultimately how to shape policy.