An evaluation of response allocations to concurrently available slot machine simulations.

Full Abstract

Gambling behavior often involves making choices between concurrently available game options. With regard to slot machine gambling, multiple games allow for choices to be made with respect to which game to play. The authors of the present study used a slot machine simulation created in Visual Basic.NET to examine gambling preference. The specific question addressed was whether gamblers prefer a smaller payout more often (averaging around every 10 spins) over a larger payout less often (averaging around every 50 spins). Two types of reinforcement were examined during the study:
frequency of payouts and the amount of credits won. The results indicate that participants had a preference for a slot machine with the more frequent payout as opposed to one with more intermittent payout. These results support existing literature on theories of choice and provide a step toward understanding human gambling behavior.

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Author information

Author/s: Dixon, Mark R (MR); MacLin, Otto H (OH); Daugherty, Dustin (D);

Affiliation: Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, Illinois, USA.

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article

Journal: Behavior research methods (Behav Res Methods), published in United States. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2006-May; vol 38 (issue 2) : pp 232-6

Dates: Created 2006/09/07; Completed 2006/09/26;

PMID: 16956099, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 12/26/2008)

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

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MeSH headings (categories)

This article was linked to the MESH Headings shown below.

Computer Simulation
Gambling

Humans
User-Computer Interface

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