TY - JOUR

T1 - Alcohol intake can reduce gambling behavior

AU - Wagner, Greta

AU - Sevincer, A. Timur

AU - Keim, Rebecca

AU - Fähnrich, Marén

AU - Oettingen, Gabriele

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2018 APA, all rights reserved.

PY - 2018/11/1

Y1 - 2018/11/1

N2 - Prolonged and risky gambling can have negative consequences financially and in health (e.g., developing an addiction). As gambling frequently occurs together with alcohol intake, we investigated whether we could reduce persistent and risky gambling under the influence of alcohol. Specifically, following alcohol myopia theory (Steele & Josephs, 1990), stating that intoxicated people's behavior is disproportionally guided by salient cues, we propose that making low chances of winning salient in a gambling situation should reduce persistent and risky gambling in alcohol intoxicated participants. In 3 laboratory studies, participants either consumed alcohol or a placebo. We made low chances of winning salient (vs. not) by explicitly displaying the low chances in large letters. Making low chances salient led intoxicated participants to gamble less persistently on a computerized slot machine (Study 1 and 2) and with less risk in a lottery game (Study 3) compared with sober participants and compared with sober and intoxicated participants in a control condition in which low chances were not salient. Moreover, using eye-tracking in Study 3, we found that the effect of alcohol on less risky gambling was mediated by intoxicated participants' greater attention to the salient low chances. Finally, we replicated the findings from our laboratory studies in the field: When low chances were made salient, the more alcohol bar patrons had consumed, the less persistently they gambled on a slot machine (Study 4). The findings have applied implications for reducing excessive gambling under the influence of alcohol by making low chances salient on games of chance.

AB - Prolonged and risky gambling can have negative consequences financially and in health (e.g., developing an addiction). As gambling frequently occurs together with alcohol intake, we investigated whether we could reduce persistent and risky gambling under the influence of alcohol. Specifically, following alcohol myopia theory (Steele & Josephs, 1990), stating that intoxicated people's behavior is disproportionally guided by salient cues, we propose that making low chances of winning salient in a gambling situation should reduce persistent and risky gambling in alcohol intoxicated participants. In 3 laboratory studies, participants either consumed alcohol or a placebo. We made low chances of winning salient (vs. not) by explicitly displaying the low chances in large letters. Making low chances salient led intoxicated participants to gamble less persistently on a computerized slot machine (Study 1 and 2) and with less risk in a lottery game (Study 3) compared with sober participants and compared with sober and intoxicated participants in a control condition in which low chances were not salient. Moreover, using eye-tracking in Study 3, we found that the effect of alcohol on less risky gambling was mediated by intoxicated participants' greater attention to the salient low chances. Finally, we replicated the findings from our laboratory studies in the field: When low chances were made salient, the more alcohol bar patrons had consumed, the less persistently they gambled on a slot machine (Study 4). The findings have applied implications for reducing excessive gambling under the influence of alcohol by making low chances salient on games of chance.

KW - alcohol myopia

KW - field experiment

KW - gambling

KW - nudge

KW - risk-taking

KW - Psychology

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85054036954&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1037/adb0000396

DO - 10.1037/adb0000396

M3 - Journal articles

C2 - 30265058

AN - SCOPUS:85054036954

VL - 32

SP - 832

EP - 885

JO - Psychology of Addictive Behaviors

JF - Psychology of Addictive Behaviors

SN - 0893-164X

IS - 7

ER -