Cognitive Approach Gambling - created from Mind Map

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INITIATION

use it as treatment for psychological symptoms from which they suffer, gambling associated with depression due to poverty. may not make things better but if gambler believes it does, it can easily become addiction

found those who gambled for self medication also more likely to have other dependencies, supporting theory that gambling used to escape reality of life problems

research supports self medication model as found that major depressive disorder evident in many pathological gamblers.

only correlation & could be effect of gambling not cause

the idea that gamblers have different motivational reasons for taking up gambling can have implications for treatment. E.g. for self medicating gamblers may be beneficial to address any underlying mood problems before attempting to make them quit gambling. Cognitive therapy can then change irrational beliefs to reduce motivation for gambling. Success of this therapy suggests addiction must have a cognitive component.

RELAPSE

suffer 'recall bias' i.e. remember & overestimate wins & forget losses. believe will eventually be rewarded for efforts & win even if losing constantly. motivated to return as think they deserve to win, having lost so often, 'just world' hypothesis.

MAINTENANCE

cognitive distortions & irrational perceptions of ability to influence outcome of gambling. Believe completely random events are influenced by recent events. perform superstitious behaviours which gamblers believe will help them manipulate the outcome in their favour.

Griffiths: gamblers believed they were more skillful than they actually were & explained their losses as 'near wins' instead of 'near misses' i.e. constantly nearly winning, justifying continuation. supports theory that gamblers have exaggerated self confidence in their ability to influence chance.

despite logic of cognitive explanations, its found that pathological gamblers were irrational in some forms of gambling related cognitions but just as accurate as non-gamblers in estimating odds, suggesting that possessing relevant knowledge does not make people less susceptible to cognitive distortions.

in contrast to bio, emphasises habitual ways of thinking that may lead to addiction, making for better understanding

research found that problem gamblers had obssessive-compulsive thinking suggesting dependency can be explained by cognitive factors.

study found that gamblers, as well as other addicts, lapsed due to negative emotional states. Lapses were preceded by negative moods, interpersonal conflict & social pressure. suggests addictive behaviour is engaged in because of its stress reducing qualities & stressful situations are risky for recent quitters.

Cognitive Approach Gambling