Abstract
This study examined the impact of revised reinforcement sensitivity theory (r-RST) on two measures of problem gambling. Using 112 general population adult participants, two measures of r-RST, the reinforcement sensitivity theory of personality questionnaire (RST-PQ) and Jackson 5, were used to predict problem gambling operationalised using the South Oaks Gambling Screen and the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT). Hypotheses were that the behavioural approach system (BAS) would positively predict problem gambling and the behavioural inhibition system (BIS) would negatively predict problem gambling. Results found that the BIS negatively predicted problem gambling. The RST-PQ BAS reward reactivity subscale positively predicted problem gambling using the IGT. These findings add to the operational understanding of the r-RST personality model, its relationships to avoidance and approach behaviour in response to reward and punishment, and to understanding the aetiology of problem gambling.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Abdin, E., Subramaniam, M., Vaingankar, J. A., & Chong, S. (2012). Reliability and validity of the English version of the South Oaks Gambling Screen in a multiracial Asian community sample in Singapore. International Gambling Studies, 12, 275–293. https://doi.org/10.1080/14459795.2012.669777.
Allen, P., Bennett, K., & Heritage, B. (2014). SPSS statistics version 22: A practical guide (3rd ed.). Cengage Learning South Melbourne, Australia Pty Ltd. Retrieved April 6, 2019 from https://cengage.com.au/product/title/spss-statistics-version-22-a-practical-guide/isbn/9780170348973.
Balodis, S. R. S., Thomas, A. C., & Moore, S. M. (2014). Sensitivity to reward and punishment: Horse race and EGM gamblers compared. Personality and Individual Differences, 56, 29–33. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2013.08.015.
Bechara, A., Damasio, A. R., Damasio, H., & Anderson, S. W. (1994). Insensitivity to future consequences following damage to human prefrontal cortex. Cognition, 50, 7–15. https://doi.org/10.1016/0010-0277(94)90018-3.
Brevers, D., Noël, X., He, Q., Melrose, J. A., & Bechara, A. (2016). Increased ventral-striatal activity during monetary decision making is a marker of problem poker gambling severity. Addiction Biology, 21, 688–699. https://doi.org/10.1111/adb.12239.
Carver, C. S., & White, T. L. (1994). Behavioral inhibition, behavioral activation, and affective responses to impending reward and punishment: The BIS/BAS Scales. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 67, 319–333. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.67.2.319.
Ciccarelli, M., Griffiths, M., Nigro, G., & Cosenza, M. (2017). Decision making, cognitive distortions and emotional distress: A comparison between pathological gamblers and healthy controls. Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry, 54, 204–210. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbtep.2016.08.012.
Cohen, J. (1988). Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences (2nd ed.). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Collins, M. D., Jackson, C. J., Walker, B. R., O’Connor, P. J., & Gardiner, E. (2017). Integrating the context-appropriate balanced attention model and reinforcement sensitivity theory: Towards a domain-general personality process model. Psychological Bulletin, 143, 91–106. https://doi.org/10.1037/bul0000082.
Corr, P. J. (2016). Reinforcement sensitivity theory of personality questionnaires: structural survey with recommendations. Personality and Individual Differences, 89, 60–64. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2015.09.045.
Corr, P. J., & Cooper, A. (2016). The reinforcement sensitivity theory of personality questionnaire (RST-PQ): Development and validation. Psychological Assessment, 28, 1427–1440. https://doi.org/10.1037/pas0000273.
Corr, P. J., & Thompson, S. J. (2014). Pause for thought: Response perseveration and personality in gambling. Journal of Gambling Studies, 30, 889–900. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10899-013-9395-4.
Costumero, V., Barros-Loscertales, A., Fuentes, P., Rosell-Negre, P., Bustamante, J. C., & Avila, C. (2016). BAS-drive trait modulates dorsomedial striatum activity during reward response-outcome associations. Brain Imaging and Behavior, 10, 869–879. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11682-015-9466-5.
Farrell, N., & Walker, B. R. (2019). Reinforcement sensitivity theory and the 2 × 2 standpoints model of achievement goals. Personality and Individual Differences, 139, 317–320. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2018.11.035.
Field, A. (2013). Discovering statistics using IBM SPSS statistics (4th ed.). London: Sage.
Gaher, R. M., Hahn, A. M., Shishido, H., Simons, J. S., & Gaster, S. (2015). Associations between sensitivity to punishment, sensitivity to reward, and gambling. Addictive Behaviors, 42, 180–184. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addbeh.2014.11.014.
Goodie, A. S., & Fortune, E. E. (2013). Measuring cognitive distortions in pathological gambling: Review and meta-analyses. Psychology of Addictive Behaviours, 27, 730–743. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0031892.
Gray, J. A., & McNaughton, N. (2000). The neuropsychology of anxiety: An enquiry into the funtions of the septo-hippocampal system (2nd ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. Retrieved April 6, 2019 from http://stoa.usp.br/vahs/files/-1/16169/Gray+e+McNaughton+-+Neuropsychology+of+Anxiety.pdf.
Jackson, C. J. (2009). Jackson-5 scales of revised reinforcement sensitivity theory (r-RST) and their application to dysfunctional real-world outcomes. Journal of Research in Personality, 43, 556–569. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrp.2009.02.007.
Jackson, C. J. (2011). How sensation seeking provides a common basis for functional and dysfunctional outcomes. Journal of Research in Personality, 45, 29–36. https://doi.org/10.1016//j.jrp.2010.11.005.
Jiang, Y., & Tiliopoulos, N. (2014). Individual differences in adult attachment and reinforcement sensitivity. Personality and Individual Differences, 68, 205–210. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2014.04.022.
Jiminez-Murcia, S., Fernandez-Aranda, F., Mestre-Bach, G., Granero, R., Tarrega, S., Torrubia, R., et al. (2017). Exploring the relationship between reward and punishment sensitivity and gambling disorder in a clinical sample: A path modeling analysis. Journal of Gambling Studies, 33, 579–597. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10899-016-9631-9.
Keough, M. T., Wardell, J. D., Hendershot, C. S., Bagby, R. M., & Quilty, L. C. (2017). Fun seeking and reward responsiveness moderate the effect of the behavioural inhibition system on coping-motivated problem gambling. Journal of Gambling Studies, 33, 769–782. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10899-016-9646-2.
Kim, D. Y., & Lee, J. H. (2011). Effects of the BAS and BIS on decision-making in a gambling task. Personality and Individual Differences, 50, 1131–1135. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2011.01.041.
Kramer, S., Rodriguez, B. F., & Kertz, S. J. (2015). Predicting socially anxious group membership using reinforcement sensitivity theory. Personality and Individual Differences, 86, 474–476. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2015.06.053.
Krupic, D., Corr, P. J., Rucevic, S., Krizanic, V., & Gracanin, A. (2016a). Five reinforcement sensitivity theory (RST) of personality questionnaires: Comparison, validity and generalization. Personality and Individual Differences, 97, 19–24. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2016.03.012.
Krupic, D., Gracanin, A., & Corr, P. J. (2016b). The evolution of the behavioural approach system (BAS): Cooperative and competitive resource acquisition strategies. Personality and Individual Differences, 94, 223–227. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2016.01.044.
Lakey, C. E., Goodie, A. S., & Campbell, W. K. (2007). Frequent card playing and pathological gambling: The utility of the Georgia Gambling Task and Iowa Gambling Task for predicting pathology. Journal of Gambling Studies, 23, 285–297. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10899-006-9034-4.
Lesieur, H. R., & Blume, S. B. (1987). The South Oaks Gambling Screen (SOGS): A new instrument for the identification of pathological gamblers. American Journal of Psychiatry, 144, 1184–1188. https://doi.org/10.1176/ajp.144.9.1184.
MacLaren, V., Ellery, M., & Knoll, T. (2015). Personality, gambling motives and cognitive distortions in electronic gambling machine players. Personality and Individual Differences, 73, 24–28. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2014.09.019.
Montoresso, J., Ehrman, R., Napier, K., O’Brien, C. P., & Chidress, A. R. (2001). Three decision making tasks in cocaine dependent patients: Do they measure the same construct? Addiction, 96, 1825–1837. https://doi.org/10.1080/09652140120089571.
O’Connor, P. J., Stone, S., Walker, B. R., & Jackson, C. J. (2017). Deviant behavior in constrained environments: Sensation-seeking predicts workplace deviance in shallow learners. Personality and Individual Differences, 108, 20–25. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2016.11.062.
Rollwage, M., Comtesse, H., & Stemmler, G. (2017). Risky economic choices and frontal EEG asymmetry in the context of reinforcer-sensitivity-theory-5. Cognitive Affective & Behavioral Neuroscience, 17, 984–1001. https://doi.org/10.3758/s13415-017-0527-7.
Shahzadi, K., & Walker, B. R. (2019). Reinforcement sensitivity theory and relationship satisfaction via mastery. Personality and Individual Differences, 139, 46–52. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2018.11.007.
Smederevac, S., Mitrovic, D., Colovic, P., & Nikolasevic, Z. (2014). Validation of the measure of revised reinforcement sensitivity theory constructs. Journal of Individual Differences, 35, 12–21. https://doi.org/10.1027/1614-0001/a000121.
Smillie, L. D., & Jackson, C. J. (2006). Functional impulsivity and reinforcement sensitivity theory. Journal of Personality, 74, 47–83. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6494.2005.00369.x.
Smillie, L. D., Jackson, C. J., & Dalgleish, L. I. (2006). Conceptual distinctions among Carver and White’s (1994) BAS scales: A reward-reactivity versus trait impulsivity perspective. Personality and Individual Differences, 40, 1039–1050. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2005.10.012.
Stoeber, J., & Corr, P. J. (2015). Perfectionism, personality, and affective experiences: New insights from revised reinforcement sensitivity theory. Personality and Individual Differences, 86, 354–359. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2015.06.045.
Tabachnick, B. G., & Fidell, L. S. (2014). Using multivariate statistics: Pearson new international (6th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Education.
Torrubia, R., Avila, C., Molto, J., & Caseras, X. (2001). The sensitivity to punishment and sensitivity reward questionnaire (SPSRQ) as a measure of Gray’s anxiety and impulsivity dimensions. Personality and Individual Differences, 31, 837–862. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0191-8869(00)00183-5.
Turnbull, O. H., Evans, C. E. Y., Bunce, A., Carzolio, B., & O’Connor, J. (2004). Emotion-based learning and central executive resources: An investigation of intuition and the Iowa Gambling Task. Brain and Cognition, 57, 244–247. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bandc.2004.08.053.
Verdejo-Garcia, A., & Bechara, A. (2009). A somatic marker theory of addiction. Neuropharmacology, 56, 48–62. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuropharm.2008.07.035.
Verdejo-Garcia, A., Bechara, A., Recknore, E. C., & Perez-Garcia, M. (2006). Decision-making and the Iowa Gambling Task: Ecological validity in individuals with substance dependence. Psychologica Belgica, 46, 55–78. https://doi.org/10.5334/pb-46-1-2-55.
Verdejo-Garcia, A., Benbrook, A., Funderburk, F., David, P., Cadet, J. L., & Bolla, K. I. (2007). The differential relationship between cocaine use and marijuana use on decision-making performance over repeat testing with the Iowa Gambling Task. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 90, 2–11. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2007.02.004.
Walker, B. R., & Jackson, C. J. (2014). How the five-factor model and revised reinforcement sensitivity theory predict divergent thinking. Personality and Individual Differences, 57, 54–58. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2013.09.011.
Walker, B. R., & Jackson, C. J. (2016). Examining the validity of the revised reinforcement sensitivity theory scales. Personality and Individual Differences, 106, 90–94. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2016.10.035.
Walker, B. R., Jackson, C. J., & Frost, R. (2017). A comparison of revised reinforcement sensitivity theory with other contemporary personality models. Personality and Individual Differences, 109, 232–236. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2016.12.053.
Wardell, J. D., Quilty, L. C., Hendershot, C. S., & Bagby, R. M. (2015). Motivational pathways from reward sensitivity and punishment sensitivity to gambling frequency and gambling-related problems. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 29, 1022–1030. https://doi.org/10.1037/adb0000066.
Wiehler, A., & Peters, J. (2015). Reward-based decision making in pathological gambling: The roles of risk and delay. Neuroscience Research, 90, 3–14. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neures.2014.09.008.
Yang, Y., Zhong, X., Wu, D., Li, H., & Li, M. (2016). Positive association between trait impulsivity and high gambling-related cognitive biases among college students. Psychiatry Research, 243, 71–74. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2016.04.110.
Zuckerman, M. (1994). Behavioral expressions and biosocial bases of sensation seeking. New York: Cambridge University Press. Retrieved April 6, 2019 from http://www.cambridge.org/us/academic/subjects/life-sciences/animal-behaviour/behavioral-expressions-and-biosocial-bases-sensation-seeking?format=PB&isbn=9780521437707.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
Author A declares that she has no conflict of interest. Author B declares that he has no conflict of interest.
Ethical Approval
All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Farrell, N., Walker, B.R. Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory and Problem Gambling in a General Population Sample. J Gambl Stud 35, 1163–1175 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10899-019-09850-3
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10899-019-09850-3