Mark Dickerson

Levels of arousal in high- and low-frequency gamblers

High-(N = 22) and low-(N = 22) frequency gamblers were subjected to provocation with gambling or neutral stimuli prior to playing a poker machine. All Ss used a minimum of AS

Minimal treatments and problem gamblers: A preliminary investigation

3 of their own money and played a machine currently in use in local clubs with a maximum major payout of AS

Gambling: a dependence without a drug

100. HR and subjective measures of arousal were taken throughout. Neither provocation condition resulted in changes from baseline arousal in either group. Playing was associated with increases in arousal in both groups, but significantly greater arousal was shown by high-frequency players.

On the similarity of positive and negative intrusions

In view of the increasing popularity of minimal intervention treatments for problem drinking, a self-help manual for people who wish to reduce or stop gambling was prepared. Twenty-nine (ACT residents) who responded to advertisements for help with problem gambling were allocated to either of two minimal treatments, “Manual (only)” and “Manual & Interview”. On average, clients from both groups reduced the frequency of their gambling sessions, frequency of overspending, and amount spent per week in the first three months and next three months after first contact, but expenditure per session increased from three to six months, after an initial improvement. There was no evidence that a single in-depth interview added to the effectiveness of the manual.

Intrusive thoughts; unpleasantness not the major cause of uncontrollability

This paper reviews the research literature on excessive and persistent gambling with particular emphasis on the reasons why such behaviour has come to be classified among the addictions. The characteristics of gamblers who seek help from mental health agencies are discussed in relation to the diagnostic criteria for ‘pathological gambling’ given in DSM III-R.5 Although there have been few controlled treatment evaluations the range of therapeutic approaches employed in Australia, the U.S.A. and the U.K. are reviewed. A variety of theoretical models have been proposed to explain the psychological and physiological processes that may underlie the progression of this behavior from an infrequent leisure habit to a costly, all-engrossing, addictive-like preoccupation. These models are critically reviewed in the light of existing empirical findings. The evidence that excessive gambling shows features of dependence despite the absence of a psychoactive agent is evaluated. The concluding section of the paper explo...

The prevalence of excessive and pathological gambling in Australia

Abstract Ninety-eight psychology students completed questionnaire on their experience during the past two weeks of intrusive thoughts and of their mood state. Positive and negative intrusions were similar with respect to uncontrollability. Negative intrusions were significantly less acceptable and more distressing. Although positive intrusions were typically ‘enjoyed’, a common response to intrusions was to initiate some neutralising process. Controllability of both positive and negative intrusions was significantly related to depresed mood. Within a cognitive processing framework the assumption that intrusions have natural attentional priority may have value in simplifying theoretical models of obsessional and compulsive processes.

Demographic, Personality, Cognitive and Behavioral Correlates of Off-Course Betting Involvement

Abstract Previous theories have attributed the uncontrollability of obsessions to the unpleasantness and arousing nature of their themes. A survey of 115 students showed uncontrollability of normal intrusive thoughts to be related to the intensity of the thoughts and to attentional involvement with the thoughts, but weakly related to the unpleasantness of the theme. Using a dual-task paradigm, performance of 52 students on a signal detection task after dwelling on ‘target’ thoughts showed pleasant and unpleasant intrusive thoughts to be equally persistent and more persistent than neutral thoughts. It is argued that theories of obsessions should shift emphases from unpleasantness to attention and information processing.

Gambling: the psychology of a non‐drug compulsion

Prevalence rate estimates were made for four levels of excessive gambling in Australia. Poker machine players (N=398) and off-course bettors (N=172) in the Australian Capital Territory were surveyed on their gambling. Four increasingly strict levels of excessive gambling were defined. Prevalence rates for each level were estimated for the general population using results of two commercial surveys run concurrently with this research. Estimates ranged from 1.73% of the population for the most liberal level to 0.25% of the population for the most strict. The fourth level is the most psychologically adequate and so 0.25% is the most appropriate estimate. While no direct correspondence to the current DSM-III could be found, an estimate in terms of the revised DSM-III for pathological gambling was at most 0.25% of the population. This estimate may further fall in those places where gambling facilities are less available.

The future of gambling research—Learning from the lessons of alcoholism

A large (n=381) exploratory survey of off-course bettors was conducted as a step towards rectifying deficits in current gambling literature. Information collected by interviews and questionnaires from off-course betting agency customers showed the level of betting involvement to be largely unrelated to demographic and cognitive variables and sensation seeking, but related to a variety of betting behaviors. A factor analysis produced three independent factors accounting for 30% of the variance. Loadings on these suggested an independence of items involved in the process of betting and those related to the control of betting behaviors, implying that non-pathological gambling involvement may be a reasonable goal for treatment programs.

The use of a hand-held microcomputer in the collection of physiological, subjective and behavioral data in ecologically valid gambling settings

In 1968 an editorial in the British Medical Journal rejected the view that compulsive or pathological gambling should be included under the rubric of illness. Exactly 20 years later an invited paper to the same journal noted that the problem was an addictive behaviour or dependency disorder and listed the American Psychiatric Associations diagnostic criteria. The following review critically evaluates some of the key conceptual and research developments during the intervening period.