America
How gamblers are tempted to risk more
London, Feb 4
Triggering past winning memories can tempt people to gamble more, says a study.
When
reminded, or primed, of past winning outcomes as part of a controlled
test, people were over 15 percent more likely to gamble and select the
risky option, the findings showed.
"Our memories play a very
significant role when making certain decisions," said Elliot Ludvig,
from the University of Warwick in Britain.
Subtle cues about
winning outcomes are continuously apparent in casinos, from the whirring
of slot machines to the millions of dollars of cash placed on the table
for the final showdown in some poker tournaments, Ludvig noted.
"Our
results confirm how these cues are apt to make people gamble more, by
serving as reminders for those times that people have won money in the
past," Ludvig pointed out.
The researchers tested their
hypothesis by manipulating, or priming, the memory of participants for
past outcomes in a simple risky choice task.
The participants were repeatedly presented with the choice of selecting one of two doors as part of a computer test.
The
doors were selected from four coloured doors in the experiment. Three
of the doors always led to guaranteed outcomes (0, 40, or 80 points),
and the fourth, the risky door, led to a 50/50 chance of 20 or 60
points.
When the participants were reminded of a past winning or losing outcome, they were more likely to choose the risky door.
The study was published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: General.