As you know, gambling can be highly addictive, and some psychological processes often contribute to its strengthening. Results neurological studies indicate that this phenomenon has many common with drug addiction, which is why it will be recognized as a mental disorder.
In many countries, including Malta, Italy, Georgia, Belarus, Russia, Britain, there is a system of self-exclusion of players, thanks to which people who are addicted to, for example, from slot machines, are removed from the game if they feel a real threat to their own well-being. Thus, it is possible to fight against excessive hobbies for gambling.
The key to overcoming the problem is getting rid of the misconceptions associated with gambling, and an understanding of the psychological processes that one way or another can become the first step towards gambling addiction. We have collected information for you, which will help to firmly look at things in gambling and not lose your head when the form of slot machines, poker tables and roulette of Australian casinos.
Gambling addiction – a passion for casino
Gambling addiction is a person’s dependence on the desire to gamble for money, whether it be slot machines, poker, roulette and other types of gambling. Most players lose. Nevertheless, people continue to play, convinced that the win will overtake them. And this is the explanation of scientists.
One of the reasons people are encouraged to play is to feel the delight of risk. On the other hand, this is escapism. The gambling atmosphere appears to players a kind of alternative reality. At the same time when the player is surrounded by people and sounds in an emotionally rich environment, stimulation of feelings and sensations.
A less logical, but psychologically proven reason is the belief that gambling is glamorous. Mass media and advertising agencies understand the psychology of gambling and often create stylish, sexy, fashionable gambling image. In the movies and on TV, the consumer sees how the heroes have fun a night out at the casino or a half day at the races. This is often perceived as “higher society ”, to which the lower and middle classes in particular strive. This is wrong representation. Many modern operators today are fighting this problem, creating special services to identify signs of addiction to gambling and online slots Australia.
The next reason is sociality. Gambling is perceived as part of national culture, this is especially characteristic of the foreign mentality.
Consequently, trite children’s games of cards with their parents can turn into thirst.
Why does gambling addiction appear?
How to explain the behavior of people who continue to play despite frequent losses? Many gamers who lost large sums instead of stop on time, invest more and more money in the hope of getting expected payoff. There are several psychological reasons why some players cannot stop.
Factors affecting the development of gambling addiction
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Partial “reinforcement”
Reinforcement reinforces behavior. It can be done permanently, or on partial basis. The illogical behavior of the player persists longer, rather when partial than with constant reinforcement.
It is a known fact that the player does not expect to win from every bet, therefore, when faces a loss or even with a series of defeats, does not perceive it in a global sense. Players actually expect “reinforcements” from time to time and this expectation motivates them to continue.
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Availability heuristic
Cases of people having won the jackpot are getting a lot of publicity, thanks to which sit firmly in the heads of their target audience. Therefore, players can overestimate the likelihood that they too can get a similar prize, as they still have memories of those rare success stories. Even when the advantage is not on their side, their erroneous thinking leads to confidence in the fact that they have every chance of winning.
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Misleading the player
People often mistakenly believe that future events occurring in a random sequences influenced by past events. This error in thinking is extremely common among players, which explains the origin of the name of this phenomena. Misleading the player can cause people to continue to invest in gambling even after huge losses, because we are sure that they are “just about” lucky.
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Fear of loss
People are generally more sensitive to losses than to winnings. Other in other words, the pain that a player feels from losing $ 100 is likely to be much stronger than the joy that he will feel from winning the same amount. After streak of defeats, the player can continue to invest money and time in
excessive amounts, not because the potential gain looks particularly attractive, but because the pain of past losses causes great suffering. About famous Russian streamers-gamblers say this. Even when the players know that they cannot win back all their lost money, they often continue make desperate attempts to win back at least some part.
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Illusion of control
Despite the fact that winning in gambling is mostly a matter of chance, many gamblers mistakenly believe that they can control the outcome to some extent. Therefore, they can blow on the bones before throwing them, or perform some other ritual before the beginning of the game, believing that such actions will increase their chances of winning. Since people tend to invest in the kind of activity, on the result of which they can influence, the illusion of control actually encourages players to continue make efforts.
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Good mood leads to increased thirst play
In the course of recent research, it turned out that there is a connection between things which improve mood (sunny weather, victory of the local sports team), and increased gambling addiction. The explanation is as follows – a positive attitude increases the willingness to take risks.
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Changing expectations of winning
Greater commitment builds hope. Within the framework of one study of horse betting enthusiasts was asked to rate the odds their favorite horses before and after they have placed their bets. After bets were placed, players were inclined to think their horse had higher odds of winning than before betting.
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The effect of herd behavior.
When lottery jackpots hit record levels and get big attention from the media, mass ticket buying hysteria begins, as people decide they don’t want to be left out of the process. At such moments, even those who have never played the lottery before will join everyone else and buy at least couple of tickets.
Why is addiction to a casino or gambling addiction dangerous?
A game of chance is by definition a random event. At the same time, many players are firmly convinced that they can develop a system that will help them win on permanent basis. These are attempts to predict the patterns of random numbers (they are not exists), and attempts to choose “hot”, the so-called gambling slot machines, and avoid “cold” ones (for example, playing a slot that did not produce payments for a long time, considering that this “just about” will happen), and, to the point of absurdity, performing ritual actions so that the series of winnings does not stop. And all of this are misconceptions that need to be controlled in order for gambling remained only a part of life, a pleasant hobby and did not bring destruction to life person.
Some statistics
However, is the problem of gambling addiction becoming more global and serious? Experts found that the percentage of gambling addicts around the world did not increase, despite to such an active spread injury of gambling in various forms in those jurisdictions where it is legal.
So, in the framework of the first study, which was conducted in 1999-2000, scientists interviewed 2,613 respondents, asking them questions about their involvement in gambling.
Experts were interested in how often a person plays slot machines, places bets, buys lottery. Then the same questions were asked to other people a decade later, but 2,963 people took part in the second survey.
The results of the study shocked scientists. Even though gambling has become more accessible and larger, the percentage of gambling addicts remained the same.
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