z-logo
Premium
Decreasing influence of arbitrarily applicable verbal relations of recreational gamblers: A randomized controlled trial
Author(s) -
Belisle Jordan,
Paliliunas Dana,
Dixon Mark R.,
Speelman Ryan C.
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
journal of applied behavior analysis
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.1
H-Index - 76
eISSN - 1938-3703
pISSN - 0021-8855
DOI - 10.1002/jaba.511
Subject(s) - psychology , task (project management) , recreation , randomized controlled trial , cognitive psychology , group (periodic table) , developmental psychology , social psychology , medicine , surgery , management , political science , law , economics , chemistry , organic chemistry
Twenty‐one recreational gamblers were randomly assigned to two groups; one group was exposed to a conditional discrimination relational training task to bias choice allocation to a black machine presented concurrently with a red machine, and the other group underwent the same relational training task immediately followed by a defusion procedure, designed to expand upon the relations developed in the initial relational task. Both groups completed a simulated slot‐machine task before and after the relational training task, with or without the defusion procedure. Results showed that 9 of 11 participants in the relational training only group showed an increased bias toward the black machine, compared to only 4 of 10 in the relational training plus defusion group; this latter group also showed greater matched responding. Results suggest that expanding verbal–relational networks may reduce the influence of any single verbal relation on gambling choice behavior.

This content is not available in your region!

Continue researching here.

Having issues? You can contact us here