1. What gamblers say and do, over time.
Dr. Rich Cutter, Prof. Nick Heather, Prof. Kenny Coventry, Dr Tamsin Saxton, Dr. Mark Moss
Contemporary views of gambling behaviour, addiction and behaviour change suggest that such behaviours move along a continuum and are subject to a variety of influences (Dowling et al. 2016).
Narrative identity is recognised as a fundamental aspect of addiction and behaviour change (Best & Buckingham, 2016).
Theories such as dual processing have highlighted the effects of implicit mechanisms on changing problem behaviours (Borland, 2013).
Using a new approach, quantitative analysis of interview data revealed measurable change in gamblers’ narratives (N12) when comparing interviews from low scoring PGSI periods to interviews during high scoring PGSI periods.
F (1,11) 7.037, p=. 022
Factors
Away from Problem Gambling
Towards Problem Gambling
Cognitive factors
Positive
Negative
Attitude/Affect
Self-evaluation
 Explicit understanding of probability and randomness or lack of dissociation
Present/ Illusion of control/’buzz’
False beliefs
Dissociation
Behavioural Factors
 Positive control/ Decreased gambling involvement
Negative, loss of control/ Increased gambling involvement
Control
Movement
Social Factors
Positive/Discouraging gambling
Negative/Encouraging gambling
Friends/Family
Environmental factors
Restraint/Away from problem gambling
Availability/Access/Towards problem gambling
Physical/Moral
Further in-depth IPA analysis (N12) identified six main themes;
External influence – “Obviously my mam and dad would put like the lottery on every week”
Disorganised Behaviour - “If you lose five hundred pound in one day
that’s when you start to think to yourself - oh bollocks”
Conflict – “To be honest I hate it actually if I’m being truthful. I’m bitter, but I still do it.
That’s the truth. I get really angry and upset but I still do it.”
Self-identity –“That’s why I say I’m not really a gambler.”
Organised Behaviour -“I’ve acquired a bit of discipline on the betting. “
Change -“Then realised they were all winning or losing randomly
and then I just thought, nah. I stopped then.”
In a longitudinal mixed methods design, a group of sixty regular gamblers were interviewed and tested at three-month intervals for up to two years.
Data was gathered via semi-structured interviews,
explicit self-report questionnaires and implicit tasks.
(PGSI, Fallacious Beliefs, Dissociation) (Gambling Stroop Task, Roulette MouseTracker Task).
WIN- JACKPOT - LOSER
From the first session data levels of problem gambling (PGSI) were predicted by elements of each type of data collected (N60)
(Self-reported gambling behaviours, MouseTracker and interview content analysed by LIWC2007)
R2 = .514, F (5, 54) = , p <.001
The same measures were analysed as potential predictors of change in PGSI (N41), but found no significant relationships.
However, this was interpreted in terms of dual processing aspects of addiction and behaviour change.
Implicit decision making and self-narrative add to the prediction and understanding of problem gambling.
Change in PGSI is most strongly matched by changes in self-narrative, above any questionnaire measure of gambling activity or implicit responses to gambling related decisions.
This supports dual processing theories.
For many regular gamblers, conflict at both a personal and social level appears to sustain the problem aspects of their gambling behaviour.
Applications of the findings require an equally multi-faceted approach exploring the psychological processes involved in gambling behaviour, challenging society as well as individuals to develop a new narrative for gamblers.
MouseTracker
References:
Best, D., & Buckingham, S. A. (2016). Addiction, Behavioral Change and Social Identity: The path to resilience and recovery.
Borland, R. (2013). Understanding hard to maintain behaviour change: a dual process approach. John Wiley & Sons.
Dowling, N. A., Merkouris, S. S., Greenwood, C. J., Oldenhof, E., Toumbourou, J. W., & Youssef, G. J. (2016). Early risk and protective factors for problem gambling: A systematic review and meta-analysis of longitudinal studies. Clinical Psychology Review.