learning theory

• Forming gambling addiction

  • experience of observing a role model being rewarded for their gambling behaviour (vicarious reinforcement)
  • reward is their enjoyment or wins and financial returns they gain
  • observation can be via media, hearing reward makes them more likely gamble to gain same reward
• Maintaining the gambling addiction

  • positive reinforcements, reward of feeling excitement , likely to be repeated to gain the same reward
  • negative reinforcement, distract individual from everyday life e.g. unpleasant feelings and anxiety. Engage in gambling to avoid negative consequence of anxiety
• Partial reinforcement

  • If a person is rewarded every time this becomes predictable and boring, meaning the individual is less likely to repeat the addictive behaviour and develop an addictionwhen the person is rewarded only SOME of the time. This is unpredictable and exciting and so increases the likelihood of repeating the gambling behaviour and developing an addiction
  • fixed rate - is a type of partial reinforcement where behaviour is reinforced a predictable amount of times
• variable reinforcement - behaviour is reinforced an unpredictable amount of times. This highly more reinforcing as it is highly unpredictable and exciting and therefore leads to more persistent gambling behaviour