Toward an Animal Model of Gambling: Delay Discounting and the Allure of Unpredictable Outcomes

Laboratory investigations of gambling are sometimes criticized as lacking ecological validity because the stakes wagered by human subjects are not real or no real monetary losses are experienced. These problems may be partially addressed by studying gambling in laboratory animals. Toward this end, data are summarized which demonstrate that laboratory animals will work substantially harder and prefer to work under gambling-like schedules of reinforcement in which the number of responses per win is unpredictable. These findings are consistent with a delay discounting model of gambling which holds that rewards obtained following unpredictable delays are more valuable than rewards obtained following predictable delays. According to the delay discounting model, individuals that discount delayed rewards at a high rate (like pathological gamblers) perceive unpredictably delayed rewards to be of substantially greater value than predictable rewards. The reviewed findings and empirical model support the utility of studying animal behavior as an ecologically valid first-approximation of human gambling.     

The Brain’s Reward Response Occurs Even Without Actual Reward!

What if the brain’s response to reward occurs even when there is no reward? Wouldn’t that be a further concern for people prone to problem gambling and other forms of addiction, like those related to eating? Electroencephalography was employed to investigate this possibility using probabilistic feedback manipulations and measures of known event-related potentials (ERPs) related to reward processing. We tested the hypothesis—that reward-based ERPs would occur even in the absence of a tangible reward and when manipulations on expectation are implicit. The well-known P300 response potential was a key focus, and was assessed in non-gambling volunteer undergraduates on a task involving experimentally-manipulated probabilities of positive or negative feedback comprising three trial types—80, 50, or 20% positive feedback. A feedback stimulus (F1) followed a guess response between two possible outcomes (implicit win/loss), and then a second feedback stimulus (F2) was presented to confirm an alleged ‘win’ or ‘loss’ (explicit win/loss). Results revealed that amplitude of the P300 in F1-locked data (implicit manipulation) was larger (more positive) on average for feedback outcomes that were manipulated to be less likely than expected. The effect is pronounced after increased time on task (later trials), even though the majority of participants were not explicitly aware of our probability manipulations. For the explicit effects in F2-locked data, no meaningful or significant effects were observed. These findings point to the existence of proposed success-response mechanisms that operate not only explicitly but also with implicit manipulations that do not involve any direct indication of a win or loss, and are not associated with tangible rewards. Thus, there seems to be a non-explicit form of perception (we call ‘implicit’) associated with an internal experience of wins/losses (in the absence of actual rewards or losses) that can be measured in associated brain processes. The potential significance of these findings is discussed in terms of implications for problem gambling.     

College Quality,Earnings, and Job Satisfaction: Evidence from Recent College Graduates

This study investigates the relationship among college quality, earnings, and job satisfaction among a recent cohort of college graduates. Our results suggest that, controlling for earnings, college quality is negatively related to job satisfaction, especially to those aspects of the job that are associated with monetary rewards. Further analysis indicates that there is no significant difference between the male and female groups; however, the negative relationship between satisfaction with monetary rewards and college quality is mainly driven by the non-white group. These findings do not support the view that graduating from elite schools will necessarily lead to greater job satisfaction.     

Goal-oriented agents in a market

We consider a market where “standard” risk-neutral agents coexist with “goal-oriented” agents who, in addition to the expected income, seek a high-enough monetary payoff (the “trigger”) to fulfill a goal. We analyze a two-sided one-to-one matching model where the matching between principals and agents and incentive contracts are endogenous. In any equilibrium contract, goal-oriented agents are matched with the principals with best projects and receive the trigger with positive probability. Moreover, goal and monetary incentives are complementary: goal-oriented agents receive stronger monetary incentives. Finally, we discuss policy interventions in relevant environments.     

The Limits of Monetizing and Paying for Volunteering in Eldercare: A Behavioral-Economic Approach

The monetary value of informal eldercare in the family and voluntary sector has drawn much attention as it concerns a resource of welfare governments and nonprofit organizations try to activate via cash benefits. Studies addressing the issue in order to assess the economic impact of non-market activities and the willingness to accept financial rewards have largely ignored differences in the utility function of caregivers. Applying a behavioral-economic approach, we report a profound and formerly unobserved distinction between care in the household and non-household care for a family member or in a voluntary framework: whereas caregivers within the household perceive care as a burden and a positive shadow price arises, in the non-household context—and particularly in the volunteering case–care extends well-being and leads to negative shadow prices. The results show that non-market activities can only be measured in monetary terms to a limited extent and contribute to explaining the boundaries of monetary incentive policies.     

Further evidence on education and job satisfaction

Regression analysis of data from recent U.S. national surveys was used to estimate, for white men and women separately, the total effect of amount of education on job satisfaction and the effect net of extrinsic rewards (money, prestige, authority, and autonomy). We reasoned that education which does not lead to extrinsic rewards would lead to dissatisfaction with work by producing unfulfilled expectations and aspirations, and thus we hypothesized that the estimated effect of education on job satisfaction net of extrinsic rewards would be negative. The hypothesis was not supported for women and was only weakly supported for men, and thus the findings of this study do not suggest that any increase in overeducated workers will have a major negative impact on job satisfaction., The indicated total effect of education is positive for both sexes but is considerably stronger for women than for men.     

Near Wins Prolong Gambling on a Video Lottery Terminal

The purpose of the present study was to evaluate whether near wins can prolong gambling activity on a video lottery terminal. In a three-reel game, near wins were operationally defined as two identical symbols followed by a third different symbol. Players in an experimental condition were exposed to 27% near wins in a series of continuous losses, whereas players in a control group were exposed to none. Participants played as long as they wished, and received real money for their wins. The results showed that players in the near win condition played 33% more games than did the control group. The results of this study suggest that near wins can be added to the list of factors that may motivate people to gamble despite the probability of monetary loss.     

On competing rewards standards—an experimental study of ultimatum bargaining

In the tradition of earlier experimental studies, this paper introduces competing reward standards by letting parties bargain over the distribution of chips. The monetary equivalents of a chip for the bargaining parties can be equal (no competing rewards) or different (competing rewards). The ultimatum game is used as a tool to learn about reward standards in an asymmetric procedure. A major effect of different monetary chip equivalents is observed only when the proposer has a higher chip value. Results are compared to those reported in [Games Econ. Behav. 13 (1966) 100], who used a different experimental design.     

Neural Correlates of Pathological Gamblers Preference for Immediate Rewards During the Iowa Gambling Task: An fMRI Study

The Iowa Gambling Task (IGT) involves exploratory learning via rewards and penalties, where most advantageous task performance requires subjects to forego potential large immediate rewards for small longer-term rewards to avoid larger punishments. Pathological gambling (PG) subjects perform worse on the IGT compared to controls, relating to their persistence at high risk decisions involving the continued choice of potential large immediate rewards despite experiencing larger punishments. We wished to determine if neural processing of risk and reward within striatal and frontal cortex is associated with this behaviour observed in PG. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used to assess brain activity in response to a computerized version of the IGT. Thirteen male PG subjects with no active comorbidities were compared to 13 demographically matched control subjects. In agreement with previous behavioural studies, PG subjects performed worse on the IGT and made more high-risk choices compared to controls, particularly after experiencing wins and losses. During high-risk gambling decisions, fMRI demonstrated that PG subjects exhibited relatively increased frontal lobe and basal ganglia activation, particularly involving the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), caudate and amygdala. Increased activation of regions encompassing the extended reward pathway in PG subjects during high risk choices suggests that the persistence of PG may be due to the increased salience of immediate and greater potential monetary rewards relative to lower monetary rewards or potential future losses. Whether this over activation of the reward pathway is associated with the development of PG warrants further investigation.     

ATTRIBUTIONS AND THE ORIGINS OF PROBLEM GAMBLING

There is a growing concern with identifying the behavioral components of problem gambling. Using clinical data, advocates of a compulsion model indicate that a big win stimulates an unrealistic optimism that eventually leads to destructive gambling. However, drawing upon ethnographic data from a natural gambling group, I demonstrate that a bad beat (a significant monetary loss resulting from a seemingly inexplicable turn of events) often is the catalyst for the development of problem gambling. The attempt to cope with bad beats can disorient perceptions and lead to a continuing pattern of financial loss. Attribution theory provides a useful framework for understanding this process.     

MONETARY REWARDS AND DECISION COST IN EXPERIMENTAL ECONOMICS

A survey of thirty-one experimental studies which report data on the comparative effects of monetary rewards and opportunity cost shows: (1) several studies in which increased rewards shift the central tendency of the data toward the predictions of rational models; (2) in virtually all cases rewards reduce the variance of the data around the predicted outcome. This is consistent with a model in which rewards are balanced against decision cost in agent behavior and explicates the argument that when rational models fail it can be attributed to low opportunity cost of deviations from the rational prediction.     

Hitting the jackpot: the influence of monetary payout on gambling behaviour

Restrictions on monetary payout may promote player engagement in gambling as a form of entertainment rather than as a source of income. Our objective was to evaluate the effects of monetary prize magnitude upon gambling behaviour in a community sample, and the degree to which this association is moderated by gambling risk factors. One hundred and eighty-seven adults completed an online survey assessing motivation, impulsivity and affect. Participants were given a series of vignettes and asked to estimate how much they would gamble to win monetary prizes of increasing amounts with and without accrued gambling debt. Participants reported increased gambling in response to increased monetary payout. Debt moderated these outcomes, such that electronic gaming machine (EGM) and lottery expenditures and number of lottery games played decreased with increased debt; this effect was most pronounced at elevated monetary prizes. The association between duration of EGM play and monetary payout was moderated by gender only. Results suggest that self-reported gambling behaviours increased with monetary payout even across qualitatively different gambling products, and across gamblers with different motivations for gambling, levels of impulsivity, and negative affect. The restriction of monetary payouts warrants further research attention as a form of problem gambling prevention.     

The Longitudinal Influence of Self‐Efficacy,Communication, and Parenting on Spontaneous Adolescent Disclosure

This study involving 463 adolescents examined the impact of parent, teen, and parent–teen interaction processes on spontaneous disclosure to mothers. High openness in communication and stronger disclosure self‐efficacy beliefs were associated with more disclosure at follow‐up. Although a positive relationship was also found for maternal warmth/responsiveness when it was considered together with other parenting attributes, its unique contribution to the disclosure process was attenuated once openness and self‐efficacy beliefs were taken into account. Domain‐specific predictors of disclosure were also explored. Open communication was important for disclosure across all domains, while self‐efficacy beliefs were critical for revealing difficult information. These findings underscore the importance of fostering an open environment in families that nurtures adolescents' confidence to engage in disclosure with parents.     

The Dark Side of Authenticity: Feeling “Real” While Gambling Interacts with Enhancement Motives to Predict Problematic Gambling Behavior

Engaging in activities that make people feel authentic or real is typically associated with a host of positive psychological and physiological outcomes (i.e., being authentic serves to increase well-being). In the current study, we tested the idea that authenticity might have a dark side among people engaged in an addictive or risky behavior (gambling). To test this possibility, we assessed gamblers (N = 61) who were betting on the National Hockey League playoff games at a sports bar. As predicted, people who felt authentic when gambling reported behavior associated with problem gambling (high frequency of betting) as well as problematic play (a big monetary loss and a big monetary win). Moreover, such behavior and gambling outcomes were particularly high among people who were motivated to gamble for the purpose of enhancement. The interaction of feeling authentic when betting and gambling for purposes of enhancing positive emotions proved especially troublesome for problematic forms of play. Implications of authenticity as a potential vulnerability factor for sports betting and other types of gambling are discussed.     

Motivation as a limit to pricing

A monetary reward offered by a principal tends to crowd out an agent's willingness to perform the task for its own sake (i.e. based on intrinsic motivation) if the agent's sense of recognition, fairness, or self-determination are thereby negatively affected. The crowding-out effect of pricing may also spill over into sectors where no pricing is applied (spillover effect) if the persons affected find it costly to dinstinguish their motivations according to sectors. Motivation crowding-out and spillover narrow the scope for successfully applying monetary rewards. These theoretical claims are supported by real-life observations for environmental policy and blood donations.     

PROMISED CONTRIBUTIONS TO CHARITY AND MAIL SURVEY RESPONSES: REPLICATION WITH EXTENSION

The efficacy of four types of incentives for stimulating mailsurvey response rates was examined against a no-incentive controlgroup. Two of the incentives were enclosed personal cash rewards(25ø and $1), and two were promised rewards. Of the latter,one was an impersonal reward, the promise of a $1 contributionto a charity of the respondent's choice, and one a personalreward, the opportunity to win a $200 cash prize. As hypothesized,the personal cash rewards generated response rates that weresignificantly higher than that of the control group. Also ashypothesized, the charity-incentive group produced a responserate that was not significantly different from the control group.Discontinuation of the use of charity incentives should be seriouslyconsidered by future researchers. In contrast, the cash prizeincentive yielded a significantly greater response than thecontrol group, as expected, and was on par with the 25øgroup. Additional investigation of the use of cash prize incentivesis recommended.     

Efficiency,equality, positionality: What do people maximize? Experimental vs. hypothetical evidence from Tunisia

We experimentally test in a developing country whether people prefer a situation where individual and social interests coincide, a situation promoting equality or another one promoting a better relative position. We also investigate whether incentive compatible choices are consistent with results obtained by hypothetical surveys and whether results remain robust when higher stakes are considered. Our results show when stakes are low, a similar proportion of individuals (about 40%) choose the option that maximizes self-interest and social good and the option that promotes equality. Our findings suggest that hypothetical surveys may lead individuals to overestimate positional concerns and to be insensitive to stakes. In presence of higher stakes, egalitarian concerns prevail in incentive compatible experiments.     

Looking at spillover from both sides: an examination of work and home flexibility and permeability

This study examined how flexibility and permeability in the boundaries surrounding the work and home domains affect the spillover from work to home and home to work. We looked at both flexibility and permeability in each of the two domains using directional and dichotomous measures of both negative and positive spillovers. Multivariate analyses and hierarchical regression showed that for 362 survey respondents, boundary flexibility reduced time- and strain-based spillover from work to home and home to work. Flexibility also was positively related to positive spillover from home to work. Permeability, on the other hand, was positively related to time-based spillover from work to home and from home to work. The results also showed support for the notion of asymmetric permeability, such that the relationships between work boundary permeability and the W→H spillovers were stronger than those between home boundary permeability and the H→W spillovers.