Abstract
There is evidence that the losing behavior of pathological gamblers may be purposeful. In this paper, I argue that they may lose in order to fulfill a loser script. The script is a decision, or series of decisions, made early in life to accommodate to parents perceived as threatening and omnipotent. The decision, once made, is carried, unwittingly, into later life and is re-enacted repeatedly. The pathological gambler may lose to fulfill parental expectations that he or she has decided to adopt as his or her own. Because the loser script is a decision, or series of decisions, it can be redecided. This is best done with the help of a potent therapist, who is perceived as stronger than the original threatening parents, and in group therapy, wherein group members support one another in the redecision process.
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Ingram, R. Transactional script theory applied to the pathological gambler. J Gambling Stud 1, 89–96 (1985). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01019861
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01019861