Abstract
Determinants of the decision to gamble not only include the gambler's biological and psychological constitution but also the structural characteristics of the gambling activity itself. Such characteristics may be responsible for reinforcement, may satisfy gambler's needs, and facilitate excessive gambling. Showing the existence of such relationships has great practical importance. Not only could potentially ‘dangerous’ forms of gambling be identified but effective and selective legislation could be formulated. This paper outlines a history of the importance of structural characteristics in fruit machine gambling and then discusses the role of a number of distinct characteristics including pay out interval, multiplier potential, better involvement, skill, win probability, pay out ratio, suspension of judgement, symbol ratio proportions, the near miss, light, colour, and sound effects and naming. These are all examined in relation to the gambler's behaviour and/or cognitions. It is shown that structural characteristics of fruit machines have the potential to induce excessive gambling regardless of individuals' biological and psychological constitution and that such insights may help in decreasing fruit machine gambling's “addictiveness” potential and help in formulating effective gambling policy.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Abt, V., Smith, J.F. & Christiansen, E.M. (1985).The business of risk: Commercial gambling in mainstream America. Lawrence, Kansas: University of Kansas Press.
Acking, C.A. & Kuller, R. (1972). The perception of an interior as a function of its colour.Ergonomics, 15, 645–654.
American Psychiatric Association (1987).Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, (3rd Edition-revised) Washington D.C.: Author.
Amsel, A. (1958). The role of frustrative non reward in non continuous reward situations.Psychological Bulletin, 55, 102–119.
Birren, F. (1965).Colour psychology and colour therapy. New York Hyde, NY: University Books.
Birren, F. (1978).Colour and human response. New York: Van Nostrand.
Bornstein, M.H. (1978). Colour vision and pattern vision.Advances in Child Development and Behaviour, 12, 117–182.
Boyce, P.R. (1975). The luminous environment. In D. Canter and P. Stringer (Eds.)Environmental interaction: Psychological approaches to our physical surroundings, pp 81–124. New York: International Universities Press.
Caldwell, G. (1974). The gambling Australian. In D.E. Edgar (Ed.)Social change in Australia: Readings in sociology, pp 13–28. Melbourne: Cheshire.
Carr, S.J. & Dabbs, J.M. (1974). The effects of lighting, distance and intimacy of topic on verbal and visual behaviour.Sociornetry, 37, 592–600.
Cornish, D.B. (1978).Gambling: A review of the literature. London: HMSO.
Costa, N. (1988).Automatic pleasures: The history of the coin machine. London: Kevin Francis Publishing.
Eysenck, H.J. (1941). A critical and experimental study of colour preferences.American Journal of Psycholop, 55, 385–394.
Fisher, S. (in press). The pull of the fruit machine: A sociological typology of young players.Sociological Review.
Goethe, J.W. Von (1971).Goethe's colour theory (edited by R. Matthaei, translated by H. Aach). London: Studio Vista.
Graham, J. (1988).Amusement machines: Dependency and delinquency. Home Office Research Study No. 101. London: HMSO.
Greenlees, E.M. (1988).Casino accounting and financial management. Nevada: University of Nevada Press.
Griffiths, M.D. (1988). The gaming industry: A summary of personal communications. Economic Psychology Research Group Report 88/13, University of Exeter.
Griffiths, M.D. (1989). Gambling in children and adolescents.Journal of Gambling Behaviour, 5, 66–83.
Griffiths, M.D. (1990a). The acquisition, development and maintenance of fruit machine gambling in adolescence.Journal of Gambling Studies, 6, 193–204.
Griffiths, M.D. (1990b). The cognitive psychology of gambling.Journal of Gambling Studies, 6, 31–42.
Griffiths, M.D. (1990c). Addiction to fruit machines: A preliminary study among males.Journal of Gambling Studies, 6, 113–126.
Griffiths, M.D. (1990d). Arcade clientele and gaming preferences: A long term study.Perceptual and Motor Skills, 70, 1258.
Griffiths, M.D. (1990e). The role of cognitive bias and skill in fruit machine gambling. In S.E.G. Lea, P. Webley & B. Young (Eds.).Applied economic psychology in the 1990s. Vol. 1. pp. 228–253. Exeter: Washington Singer Press.
Griffiths, M.D. (1990f, September). The observational study of U.K. amusement arcades and its clientele: A longitudinal perspective. Paper presented at the Social Psychology Section Conference, British Psychological Society, Leeds.
Griffiths, M.D. (1991a). Amusement machine playing in childhood and adolescence: A comparative analysis of video games and fruit machines.Journal of Adolescence, 14, 53–73.
Griffiths, M.D. (1991b). The observational study of U.K. amusement arcades.Journal of Community and Applied Social Psychology, 1, 309–320.
Griffiths, M.D. (1991c). The psychobiology of the near miss in fruit machine gambling.Journal of Psychology, 125, 347–357.
Griffiths, M.D. (1991d). The acquisition, development and maintenance of fruit machine gambling in adolescence. Unpublished PhD thesis, University of Exeter.
Griffiths, M.D. (1993). Tolerance in gambling: An objective measure using the psychophysiological analysis of male fruit machine gamblers, Addictive Behaviors, in press.
Griffiths, M.D. & Swift, G. (1992). The use of light and colour in gambling arcades: A small study. Society for the Study of Gambling Newsletter, 21, 16–22.
Hess, H.F. & Diller, J.V. (1969). Motivation for gambling as revealed in the marketing methods of the legitimate gambling industry.Psychological Reports, 25, 19–27.
Holmes, W.F. (1985). Video games: Concepts and latent influences (Part I).F.B.I. Law Enforcement Bulletin, 54(3), 1–9.
Holohan, C.J. (1982).Environmental psychology. New York: Random House.
Ide-Smith, S. & Lea, S.E.G. (1988). Gambling in young adolescents.Journal of Gambling Behaviour, 4, 110–119.
Kahneman, D. & Tversky, A. (1982). The psychology of preferences.Scientific American, January, 136–142.
Langer, E.J. (1975). The illusion of control.Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 32, 311–328.
Langer, E.J. & Roth, J. (1975). The illusion of control as a function of the sequence of outcomes in a purely chance task.Journal of Social Psychology, 32, 951–955.
Logan, H.L. & Berger, E. (1961). Measurement of visual information cues.Illuminating Engineering, 56, 393–403.
Mehrabian, A. & Russell, J.A. (1974). The basic emotional impact of environments.Perceptual and Motor Skills, 38, 283–301.
Moran, E. (1987). Gambling among schoolchildren: The impact of the fruit machine. London: National Council on Gambling.
National Housing and Town Planning Council (1988).The use of amusement arcades: A national survey. London: NHTPC.
Odbert, H.S., Karwoski, T.F. & Eckerson, A.B. (1942). Studies in synesthetic thinking: I. Musical and verbal associations of colour and mood.Journal of General Psychology, 26, 153–173.
Reid, R.L. (1986). The psychology of the near miss.Journal of Gambling Behavior, 2, 32–39.
Royal Commission (1951).Report of the Royal Commission on Betting, Lotteries and Gaming 1949–1951. London: HMSO.
Skinner, B.F. (1953).Science and human behavior. New York: MacMillan.
Spectrum Children's Trust (1988).Slot machine playing by children: Results of a survey in Taunton and Minehead. London: SCT.
Stark, G.M., Saunders, D.M. & Wookey, P. (1982). Differential effects of red and blue lighting on gambling behaviour.Current Psychological Research, 2, 95–100.
Stevens, W.R. & Foxell, C.A.P. (1955). Visual acuity.Light and Lighting, 48, 419–424.
Strickland, L.H. & Grote, F.W. (1967). Temporal presentation of winning symbols and slot machine playing.Journal of Experimental Psychology, 74, 10–13.
Weinstein, D. & Deitch, L. (1974).The impact of legalized gambling: The socioeconomic consequences of lotteries and off-track betting. New York: Praeger.
Wexner, L.B. (1954). The degree to which colors (hues) are associated with mood tones.Journal of Applied Psychology, 38, 432–435.
White, S. (1989). Against the odds.Young People Now, April, 26–27.
Wilson, G.D. (1966). Arousal properties of red versus green.Perceptual and Motor Skills, 23, 947–949.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
The author would like to thank the U.K. Economic and Social Research Council for funding his work through a research studentship. The author would also like to thank Henry Lesieur and the anonymous reviewers for their helpful suggestions in the preparation of this manuscript.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Griffiths, M. Fruit machine gambling: The importance of structural characteristics. J Gambling Stud 9, 101–120 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01014863
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01014863