explanations for gambling addiction: learning theory

• Reinforcement ?

  A consequence of behaviour that increases the likelihood of that behaviour being repeated. Can be positive or negative.
• Partial reinforcement?

  A behaviour is reinforced only some of the time it occurs (e.g. every tenth time or at variable intervals).
• Variable reinforcement?

  A type of partial reinforcement in which a behaviour is reinforced after an unpredictable period of time or number of responses.
• strength - research support

  support from research outside lab situation. Dickerson observed behaviour of gamblers in two betting offices in brum. compared gamblers who placed most bets with those who placed few bets.found that high-frequency gamblers were consistently more likely to place their bets in last two minutes before start of race. suggested that reason for this difference is that all gamblers find 'build-up' exciting regardless of result, especially dependent gamblers. evidence for role of positive reinforcement in gambling in a real-world setting rather than in a lab.
• Counterpoint for research support

  study had some methodological shortcomings. gambling behaviour was directly observed in betting shops over 14 weeks by one observer. as there was a single observer there was no way of checking reliability of observations. usual method is to have two observers and measure agreement between them (inter-observer reliability) but this was not done in this study. Therefore, observer bias was not eliminated and findings of the study may not be valid.