Psychology Commons^™

Exploration Of Social Reinforcement For Gambling In Single Case Designs, Mack S. Costello, Bahijah D. Sheibanee, Anneka Ricketts, Jamie L. Hirsh, Neil Deochand

Analysis of Gambling Behavior

Social reinforcement could be a variable that facilitates gambling behavior. Unfortunately, there are relatively few studies examining the impact that contingent social stimuli can have on betting behavior. Using simulated slot machine games and confederates, we investigated possible maintaining social contingencies for gambling with four recreational gamblers. Results indicated a small effect from a social positive reinforcement contingency for betting more credits than the previous trial. Four additional participants were recruited to replicate the effects of social positive reinforcement when structural aspects of the game were also changed, such as sound, win magnitude, and credit value. Lastly, one participant returned …