Chasing, or continuing to gamble to recoup previous losses, is a behavioral marker and a diagnostic criterion for gambling disorder. Even though chasing has been recognized to play a central role in ...gambling disorder, research on chasing is still relatively scarce. This study first empirically investigated the interplay between cognitive distortions related to gambling, temporal perspective, and chasing behavior in a sample of habitual gamblers. Two hundred and fifty-five adults took part in the study. Participants completed the South Oaks Gambling Screen (SOGS), the Gambling Related Cognitions Scale (GRCS), the 14-item Consideration of Future Consequences scale (CFC-14), and performed a computerized task assessing chasing behavior. Participants were randomly assigned to three experimental conditions (Control, Loss, and Win). Hierarchical logistic regression analysis showed that the decision to chase depended on scores on the CFC-14 Immediate scale and the GRCS dimensions Gambling Expectancies and Interpretative Bias. Hierarchical linear regression analysis indicated that, chasing frequency was affected by Loss condition, distortions related to gambling expectancies and predictive control, as well as by myopia for the future. Interestingly, the results of path analysis clearly indicated that some cognitions related to gambling predict chasing frequency not only directly, but also indirectly via shortened time horizon. Notably, gambling severity did not predict either the decision to chase, or the chasing persistence. These findings provide further evidence that nonchasers and chasers seem to belong to two quite distinct subtypes of gamblers. Such a difference could be useful for targeting more effective intervention strategies in gambling disorder treatment.
The mainstream position on regret in psychological literature is that its necessary conditions are agency and responsibility, that is, to choose freely but badly. Without free choice, other emotions, ...such as disappointment, are deemed to be elicited when the outcome is worse than expected. In two experiments, we tested the opposite hypothesis that being forced by external circumstances to choose an option inconsistent with one's own intentions is an important source of regret and a core component of its phenomenology, regardless of the positivity/negativity of the post-decision outcome. Along with regret, four post-decision emotions - anger toward oneself, disappointment, anger toward circumstances, and satisfaction - were investigated to examine their analogies and differences to regret with regard to antecedents, appraisals, and phenomenological aspects.
Through the scenario methodology, we manipulated three variables: choice (free/forced), outcome (positive/negative), and time (short/long time after decision-making). Moreover, we investigated whether responsibility, decision justifiability, and some phenomenological aspects (self-attribution, other attribution, and contentment) mediated the effect exerted by choice, singularly or in interaction with outcome and time, on the five emotions. Each study was conducted with 336 participants, aged 18-60.
The results of both studies were similar and supported our hypothesis. In particular, regret elicited by forced choice was always high, regardless of the valence of outcome, whereas free choice elicited regret was high only with a negative outcome. Moreover, regret was unaffected by responsibility and decision justifiability, whereas it was affected by the three phenomenological dimensions.
Our results suggest that
the prevailing theory of regret is too binding, since it posits as necessary some requirements which are not;
the antecedents and phenomenology of regret are broader than it is generally believed;
decision-making produces a complex emotional constellation, where the different emotions, singularly and/or in combination, constitute the affective responses to the different aspects of decision-making.
Currently, the diagnosis of major depressive disorder (MDD) and its subtypes is mainly based on subjective assessments and self-reported measures. However, objective criteria as ...Electroencephalography (EEG) features would be helpful in detecting depressive states at early stages to prevent the worsening of the symptoms. Scientific community has widely investigated the effectiveness of EEG-based measures to discriminate between depressed and healthy subjects, with the aim to better understand the mechanisms behind the disorder and find biomarkers useful for diagnosis. This work offers a comprehensive review of the extant literature concerning the EEG-based biomarkers for MDD and its subtypes, and identify possible future directions for this line of research. Scopus, PubMed and Web of Science databases were researched following PRISMA's guidelines. The initial papers' screening was based on titles and abstracts; then full texts of the identified articles were examined, and a synthesis of findings was developed using tables and thematic analysis. After screening 1871 articles, 76 studies were identified as relevant and included in the systematic review. Reviewed markers include EEG frequency bands power, EEG asymmetry, ERP components, non-linear and functional connectivity measures. Results were discussed in relations to the different EEG measures assessed in the studies. Findings confirmed the effectiveness of those measures in discriminating between healthy and depressed subjects. However, the review highlights that the causal link between EEG measures and depressive subtypes needs to be further investigated and points out that some methodological issues need to be solved to enhance future research in this field.
The low diffusion of EVs, which account for only 4.2% of the global registrations, has pushed scholars’ interest in uncovering the factors involved when purchasing these vehicles. Based on the theory ...of planned behavior (TPB), this study performs an exploratory analysis of the factors influencing EV purchase intention of a representative sample of the Italian population (N = 1100). Data are collected through an online questionnaire composed as of the following: 33 items are derived from TPB, 20 concern mobility habits, 8 EV knowledge, and the remaining are socio-demographic variables. The last item measures the EV purchase intention. Data concerning TPB and mobility habits are reduced through two factor analyses. The first analysis reveals four components: pleasantness, traditional driving habits, environmental concern, and perceived purchase control. The second reveals three components: autonomous transport, non-autonomous transport, and walking versus driving the car. For EV knowledge, the mean score is calculated. Then a hierarchical multiple regression analysis shows that EV purchase intention is widely predicted by pleasantness, followed by environmental concern, perceived purchase control, and, to a less extent, autonomous transport, while it is negatively affected by traditional driving habits and EV knowledge. These findings reveal that EV purchase intention in the Italian e-mobility market is essentially driven by beliefs and attitudes, but is hindered by a reluctance to leave traditional driving habits and an increasing knowledge of EVs, entailing presumably that of their unresolved problems, such as the high purchase cost, the limited range, and the poor infrastructure. Demographic variables do not affect the EV purchase intention. Suggestions are provided to policy makers and car manufacturers to sustain the EV uptake.
•The study investigated the role of craving, time perspective, gambling severity, and alcohol use in chasing.•A sample of 364 adolescents took part in the study.•Craving predicted the decision to ...chase.•Craving and alcohol consumption were good predictors of chasing persistence.•Gambling severity did not predict either the decision to chase or chasing frequency.
Chasing, or continuing to gamble to recoup losses, is a behavioral marker and a diagnostic criterion for gambling disorder. Research on chasing has focused mainly on adults, whereas the analysis of chasing behavior among adolescents has not received empirical attention in the gambling literature. The aim of the present study was to first investigate the interplay between chasing behavior, craving, temporal perspective, alcohol use, and gambling severity among Italian adolescents. Three hundred and sixty-four adolescents took part in the study. Participants completed the South Oaks Gambling Screen Revised for Adolescents (SOGS-RA), the Gambling Craving Scale (GACS), the 14-item Consideration of Future Consequences scale (CFC-14), the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT), and performed a computerized task assessing chasing behavior. Participants were randomly assigned to the control and the loss condition of the computerized task. Results indicated that the choice to continue playing, as well as chasing frequency did not vary as a function of experimental condition. Hierarchical logistic and linear regression analyses revealed that the decision to chase depended mostly on craving, whereas chasing propensity was affected by craving and alcohol misuse. Notably, gambling severity did not predict either the decision to chase, or the chasing persistence. The present study contributes important findings to the gambling literature, highlighting the role of craving alcohol use in facilitating the inability to stop within-sessions gambling among adolescents. These findings may provide evidence that nonchasers and chasers represent two different types of gamblers, and that the difference may be useful for targeting more effective therapies.
In social interactions, the reciprocity norm implies to adjust one’s behavior to that of the other agents. Conversely, behaving according to self-interest involves taking into account the reciprocity ...principle only if it does not hinder the achievement of one’s goals. However, reciprocity and self-interest may conflict with each other, as when returning a kind action involves sacrificing the possibility to achieve a personal objective. The conflict could be exacerbated by some contextual factors, such as competitive pressures. This study investigated, in a competitive interaction context, which principle prevails when the two conflict. To this end, 276 unpaid participants (M = 138) took part in a two-stage experiment entailing a simulated interaction with a fictitious opponent, which behaved selfishly, fairly or altruistically toward them during the first stage. Participants had to decide whether or not to reciprocate the opponent’s previous behavior, which in the critical experimental conditions conflicted with the goal to successfully complete the experiment. So, they were faced with a moral dilemma. Competition degree was manipulated to make the conflict between reciprocity and self-interest more or less harsh. Moreover, we tested whether the putative effect of experimental manipulation was mediated by changes in context-related affective states and personal beliefs about morality. Results showed that decision-making was principally influenced by reciprocity. Regardless of the competition degree, participants preferred to engage in reciprocal behavior even when this compromised their personal interest. Affective states and beliefs changed in response to the experimental manipulation, but they did not mediate the effect of the independent variable on decision-making.
Abstract
Several studies have examined age differences in affective decision-making utilizing the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT). However, findings are mixed, with some studies reporting impairments due to ...aging and others showing no age-related differences. The few studies that have explored personality correlates of IGT performance suggest that underlying personality characteristics may impact performance on the IGT beyond aging. Therefore, the present study investigated the interplay between chronological age, temporal perspective, and gambling-related cognitions in affective decision-making while controlling for gambling severity. Through snowball sampling, 302 adults aged 18–75 years were recruited. They administered the South Oaks Gambling Screen (SOGS), Consideration of Future Consequences scale (CFC-14), Gambling-Related Cognitions Scale (GRCS), and IGT. Regression analysis showed that future orientation and gambling-related cognitions (namely gambling expectancies, illusion of control, and predictive control) predicted IGT performance. Gender, age, education, and gambling severity were not included in the final model. Path analysis showed that gambling expectancies positively impacted the performance, whereas illusion of control and predictive control were detrimental to decision-making. Being oriented toward the future mitigated the negative effects of the two cognitive biases on IGT performance. The present study shows that aging does not affect negatively IGT performance. The quality of performance appears to depend upon individual characteristics, such as future orientation and gambling-related cognitions, irrespective of gambling severity. These findings suggest that individual characteristics should be considered in the clinical evaluation of IGT performance.
Background and aims. Chasing is a behavioral marker and a diagnostic criterion for gambling disorder. Although chasing has been recognized to play a central role in gambling disorder, research on ...this topic is relatively scarce. This study investigated the association between chasing, alcohol consumption, and mentalization among habitual gamblers. Method. A total of 132 adults took part in the study. Participants were administered the South Oaks Gambling Screen, the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test, the Reflective Functioning Questionnaire, and a laboratory task assessing chasing behavior. Participants were randomly assigned to three experimental conditions (Control, Loss, and Win). To deeply investigate chasing behavior, participants were requested to indicate the reasons for stopping or continuing playing at the end of the experimental session. Results. Logistic regression analysis showed that the choice to stop or continue playing depended on experimental condition and alcohol use. Hierarchical linear regression indicated that chasing propensity was affected by experimental condition, alcohol consumption, and deficit in mentalization. The results of path analysis showed that hypermentalizing predicts chasing not only directly, but also indirectly via alcohol consumption. Conclusions. Overall, these results for the first time showed that hypermentalization plays a key role in chasing behavior over and above gambling severity. Since these findings support the idea that chasers and non-chasers are different subtypes of gamblers, clinical interventions should consider the additive role of chasing in gambling disorder
Background and aims. Although numerous correlational studies have shown an association between cognitive distortions and problem gambling, only a few behavioral studies have investigated this topic ...by comparing problem (PGs) and non-problem gamblers (N-PGs). This quasi-experiment investigated the occurrence in both groups of a widespread cognitive distortion, the gambler’s fallacy (GF), using a fictitious roulette game. Moreover, it investigated whether the GF increased the bet amount and whether impulsivity and sensation seeking were associated with the GF. Methods. Two indices of the GF were used: a cognitive index, the probability estimate of each outcome (black/red) after manipulating the final run length (the same outcome occurring four times/once), and a behavioral index, the choice of the outcome on which to bet. A total of 320 (160 PGs and 160 N-PGs) unpaid male volunteers, aged between 18 and 68, participated in this study. Hypotheses. Erroneous probability estimates should mediate the effect of longer runs on the alternation choice (i.e., the choice of an outcome different from the previous one) to support the occurrence of GF. The GF should increase betting. PGs should be more prone than N-PGs to GF. Results. The choice of the outcome depended on both cognitive (erroneous probability estimates) and affective (preference for red) factors. PGs bet more than N-PGs but they were not more prone than N-PGs to incurring GF. Although impulsivity and sensation seeking were more intense in PGs than in N-PGs, they scarcely affected GF. Discussion and conclusions. Overall, our results corroborate the tested model of the GF that links mistaken probability estimates, choice of the outcome on which to bet, and bet amount. However, they are similar to PGs and N-PGs and fail to corroborate the hypothesis that the GF is more evident in PGs.
The purpose of this study was to examine the role of alexithymia and cognitive distortions in adolescent gambling. Five hundred and forty-six Italian high school students, between the ages of 17 and ...19 years, were administered the South Oaks Gambling Screen Revised for Adolescents (SOGS-RA), the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20), and the Gambling Related Cognitions Scale (GRCS). Results showed that problem gamblers scored highest on the GRCS and the TAS-20 scales. First-order correlations indicated strong positive associations among SOGS-RA and all GRCS subscales, as well among SOGS-RA and the TAS-20 factors, Difficulty Identifying Feelings and Difficulty Describing Feelings. The results of hierarchical regression analysis showed also that, along with gender, the most powerful predictors of gambling involvement were the GRCS subscales, Inability to Stop gambling and Interpretative Bias, and that SOGS-RA scores were moderately associated with the TAS-20 factor, Difficulty Identifying Feelings only. Mediation analyses revealed a significant indirect effect on the relation between alexithymia and gambling severity through specific gambling-related biases.
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