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Theories and research
explaining why people gamble and why some individuals persist at gambling
are numerous. The theoretical and methodological approaches
used to analyze gambling behavior can be divided into three broad classifications:
psychological studies, sociological studies, and participant observation
studies.
Psychological Explanations for Gambling Behavior
The vast majority of gambling
studies have been driven by a psychological perspective. These scholars
have attempted to explain gambling behavior by focusing on
idisyncratic or psycho-pathological motivations of gamblers.
Personality Traits Theories
Sensation Seeking.
It is suggested that gamblers are looking for varied, novel, and complex
sensations and experiences. Several researchers have tested the
hypothesis that gamblers score higher than non-gamblers on measures
of sensation seeking, but the results of these studies are inconclusive.
The findings of two
researchers supported the hypothesized relationship between sensation
seeking and gambling, while other studies did not affirm the expected relationship.
Conversely,
there was evidence of a reverse relationship between sensation seeking
and gambling. Some reseachers argued it is not the frequency of gambling
that is related to
sensation seeking but the betting behavior itself; that is, gamblers
measuring high on a sensation seeking scale would theoretically bet more
than non-sensation seekers.
The finding, that regular Blackjack players who were high on sensation
seeking made bigger bets, supported this hypothesis. It is also found that
frequent gamblers
exhibited greater arousal than did infrequent gamblers. This result
may indicate that frequent gamblers are high on sensation seeking.
Extroversion. Unlike
introverts who are supposedly more moral and more inhibited, and prefer
being alone and working in quiet surroundings, extroverts are happier,
more social, crave excitement, and enjoy noisy and active environments.
Based on these differences, it is hypothesized that extroverts will be
more likely to participate in
gambling than will introverts. The studies exploring the relationship
between extroversion and gambling have produced contradictory results.
Some found members of
Gamblers Anonymous to be high on an extroversion scale, whereas others
found pathological gamblers were not significantly different on extroversion
measures than
normal gamblers.
Locus of Control. Several
studies have tested the hypothesis that an internal locus of control predisposes
an individual to avoid gambling, whereas an external locus
of control makes an individual more susceptible to being involved in
gambling. In support of this hypothesis, one scholar noted that heavy gamblers
had higher scores on
external locus of control scales. Another scholar also found that Gamblers
Anonymous members had higher external locus of control scores.
Other Personality Traits.
It is reported that pathological gamblers appeared to be more intelligent
than the general population. Long term gamblers were more likely
to have high self-esteem, more likely to favour taking risks, less
likely to be anxious, and less likely to be depressed and short term gamblers.
Conditioned Behavior Theories
Gambling provides reinforcement
on a constant probability basis; consequently, gambling behavior preceding
a positive outcome will be conditioned over a period of
time. Consistent with this theory, one researcher found that 72% of
frequent betting shop gamblers had early luck in their gambling careers
in comparison with 15% of
the occasional betting shop gamblers who reported early luck when they
started gambling.
Arousal or excitement is
proposed by one scholar as the main reinforcers for gambling behavior.
The reason why gambling behavior persists after inevitable losses
is because gambling behavior is maintained by the most powerful reinforcement
schedule -- random reinforcement.
Needs Theories
The needs explanation perspective
is based on the premise that gambling fulfils certain psychological or
physiological needs. It is hypothesized that certain
individuals become gamblers because they are under-aroused; gambling
supposedly increases their arousal and makes them feel better.
Reasoned Action Theory
Some researchers used theory
of reasoned action to explain gambling activities in terms of gambling
attitudes and subjective norms. Based on this theory, they
viewed demographic, socioeconomic, personality, information processing,
and motivation variables as having only an indirect effect on gambling
behavior. Their effects
are seen as influencing behavioral intentions through their impact
on the individual’s attitude toward the behavior, and the subjective norms
with respect to the behavior
(the person’s perception of how significant others would think of the
gambling behavior, and his or her motivation to comply). Therefore, one’s
attitude toward gambling
and the subjective norms of gambling behavior play a vital role in
gambling activity.
Sociocognitive Theories
Sociocognitive explanations
of gambling behavior are based on the premise that gambling behavior is
maintained by irrational thinking. One common irrational
thinking pattern among gamblers is called the “gambler’s fallacy;”
that is, gamblers bank on a law of averages that does not exist rather
than on probability theory. One
empirical evidence for gamblers’ irrational thinking is that Roulette
players are more likely to bet on same colour if it has lost than if it
has won. The mistaken rationale
for this betting behavior is that players believe the colour which
has not turned up has a higher probability of turning up the next time.
In reality, red or black has an equal
chance on any given spin, no matter how many times one colour has shown
up before.