Abstract
Two studies tested whether social exclusion can increase gambling behavior. In Study 1, participants were asked to relive a socially painful instance, a physically painful instance or a control condition and were then presented with a real online gambling device (i.e., a slot machine). The results revealed that participants who relived a socially painful instance played longer on the gambling device. In Study 2, we induced actual feelings of social disconnection and manipulated slot machine anthropomorphization. The results revealed a significant interaction between inclusionary status and anthropomorphism in predicting gambling. More specifically, excluded participants gambled longer when presented with an anthropomorphized slot machine. However, the gambling behavior of excluded and included participants was no different when participants were reminded that slot machines are inanimate objects. Finally, positive and negative game experience mediated the influence of both inclusionary status and anthropomorphism on gambling. Overall, this research identifies another potential vulnerability produced by experiences of social exclusion, namely, gambling behavior. Implications for pathological gambling and future research directions are outlined.
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We thank Carlo Toneatto for creating the ad hoc software that we used to assess gambling behavior.
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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.
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Pancani, L., Riva, P. & Sacchi, S. Connecting with a Slot Machine: Social Exclusion and Anthropomorphization Increase Gambling. J Gambl Stud 35, 689–707 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10899-018-9784-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10899-018-9784-9