Religion and Gambling Among U.S. Adults: Exploring the Role of Traditions,Beliefs, Practices,and Networks*

Opportunities for legal gambling of various types have expanded rapidly in the United States in recent years. Our study develops a series of theoretical arguments linking multiple dimensions of religious involvement—traditions, beliefs, practices, and networks—with the frequency of gambling activity. Relevant hypotheses are then tested using data from the Panel Study of American Religion and Ethnicity (PS‐ARE), a recent nationwide probability sample of U.S. adults. Findings underscore the importance of co‐religionist networks in deterring gambling. In addition, biblical inerrantists and members of conservative Protestant and sectarian groups are relatively disinclined to gamble. Religious attendance is also inversely associated with gambling frequency. Differences in gambling by religious tradition are amplified among persons with strong co‐religionist networks. Several study limitations are noted, and promising future research directions on the dynamics and functioning of church‐based networks are identified.     

Do patients with OCD and pathological gambling have similar dysfunctional cognitions?

The obsessive-compulsive spectrum disorder (OCSD) theory postulates that a wide range of disorders is closely related to OCD. Current cognitive models ascertain that certain beliefs leading to misinterpretation of the significance of intrusions are important in the etiology and maintenance of OCD. This study examined whether pathological gambling, a disorder belonging to the OC spectrum, is characterized by similar dysfunctional cognitions as OCD. Dysfunctional beliefs of OCD patients were compared to those of patients with pathological gambling, panic disorder and normal controls. These beliefs were measured by the Obsessive-compulsive Beliefs Questionnaire-87 (OBQ-87), which was developed by a group of leading OCD researchers [Behav. Res. Ther. 35 (1997) 667]. It was hypothesized that according to the OCSD theory, pathological gamblers would exhibit similar cognitions to OCD patients, as well as increased levels of OCD symptoms. Analysis showed that OCD patients exhibited higher OBQ-87 scores than both panic patients and normal controls, but equal to pathological gambling patients. Pathological gamblers exhibited, however, no increase in OCD symptoms. These mixed results do not seem to support the OC spectrum theory for pathological gambling, moreover being contradictory to contemporary cognitive OCD models.     

Contextual control of delay discounting by pathological gamblers

The present study demonstrated the relative impact of gambling and nongambling contexts on the degree of delay discounting by pathological gamblers. We used a delay-discounting task with 20 pathological gamblers in and out of the natural context in which they regularly gambled. For 16 of the 20 participants, it appeared that the difference of context altered the subjective value of delayed rewards, thereby producing relative changes in delay-discounting rates that were generally consistent with a hyperbolic model of intertemporal choice. The current data suggest that empirically derived k values from delay-discounting tasks are context sensitive and are not constant across various settings for the individual. Implications for future transitional research on addictive disorders generally, and gambling specifically, are discussed.     

Modification of slot-machine preferences through the use of a conditional discrimination paradigm

The present experiment investigated the impact of contextually trained discriminations on gambling behavior. Nine recreational slot-machine players were initially exposed to concurrently available computerized slot machines that were each programmed on random-ratio schedules of reinforcement and differed only in color. All participants distributed responding equally across the two slot machines. A conditional discrimination procedure was then used to teach the contextual cues representing the arbitrary relations of "greater than" and "less than." Following contextual cue training, participants were reexposed to the concurrent slot-machine task. After training of the contextual cues, a higher proportion of responses were made to the slot machine that shared formal properties (i.e., color) with the contextual cue representing "greater than."     

Delay discounting by pathological gamblers

Discounting of delayed rewards by pathological gamblers was compared to discounting of delayed rewards by matched control nongambling participants. All participants completed a hypothetical choice task in which they made repeated choices between dollars 1,000 available after a delay and an equal or lesser amount of money available immediately. The delay to the large amount of money was varied from 1 week to 10 years across conditions. Indifference points between immediate money and delayed money were identified at each delay condition by varying the amount of immediate money across choice trials. For the majority of participants, indifference points decreased monotonically across delays. Overall, gamblers discounted the delayed rewards more steeply than did control participants.     

Cognitive treatment of pathological gamblers

This study evaluates the efficacy of a cognitive treatment for pathological gambling. Five pathological gamblers were treated in a multiple baseline across subjects design. Cognitive correction targeted the erroneous perceptions towards the notion of randomness. Four subjects reported a clinically significant decrease in the urge to gamble, an increase in their perception of control, and no longer met the DSM-IV criteria for pathological gambling. Therapeutic gains were maintained at the 6 month follow-up. Results suggest that cognitive therapy targeting the misconception of the notion of randomness is a promising treatment for pathological gambling, a refractory disorder to most therapeutic interventions.     

Gambling and Delay Discounting in Japanese Students

The present study examined the relationship between gambling behavior and delay discounting with Japanese residents. Japanese university students were selected into pathological gambler and non‐gambling control groups using a Japanese version of the South Oaks Gambling Screen. In a discounting task, participants chose individually between a large delayed reward and a smaller immediate reward with varied delays. The discounting rate (k‐value) and the area under the curve were significantly higher and smaller, respectively, for the gambler group than for the control group. These findings show that Japanese gamblers discount delayed rewards more steeply than non‐gambling controls, as has been found in U.S. residents.     

Subjective relative income and lottery ticket purchases

Despite a return of only $.53 on the dollar, state lotteries are extremely popular, especially among the poor, who play the most but can least afford to play. In two experiments conducted with low‐income participants, we examine how implicit comparisons with other income classes increase low‐income individuals' desire to play the lottery. In Experiment 1, participants were more likely to purchase lottery tickets when they were primed to perceive that their own income was low relative to an implicit standard. In Experiment 2, participants purchased more tickets when they considered situations in which rich people or poor people receive advantages, implicitly highlighting the fact that everyone has an equal chance of winning the lottery. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Reviews

Books reviewed:
Irving Kirsch (Ed.) How Expectancies Shape Experience
David F. Marks, Michael Murray, Brian Evans and Carla Willig Health Psychology, Theory, Research and Practice     

ALTERING THE NEAR‐MISS EFFECT IN SLOT MACHINE GAMBLERS

This study investigated the potential for recreational gamblers to respond as if certain types of losing slot machine outcomes were actually closer to a win than others (termed the near‐miss effect). Exposure to conditional discrimination training and testing disrupted this effect for 10 of the 16 participants. These 10 participants demonstrated high percentages of conditional discrimination testing performance, and the remaining 6 participants failed the discrimination tests. The implications for a verbally based behavioral explanation of gambling are presented.