Playing roulette, poker or scratch-off tickets can be a thrilling pastime for many people. But for others it may become an addiction that requires professional help to manage.
Psychology research has identified several factors that drive people to gamble. These include financial gain, thrill and social interaction.
Financial Gain
Gambling can be done for various reasons, including financial gain. This could involve winning money at a casino game or by betting on sports matches.
Gambling can also serve to provide people with quality time with friends and family, while providing an outlet to forget about their problems.
Studies have been conducted to uncover the various reasons why people gamble. One study revealed that people may engage in gambling for financial gain, excitement, social interaction and/or to escape their problems.
Another motivation for gambling may be an interest in learning new games and strategies, particularly among those who partake in poker or sports betting.
Excitement
Excitement is an emotional state that disrupts the body’s homeostasis, leading to increased heart rate, activity, and hormone production. It can cause stomach sensations (“butterflies in your stomach”), trembling, weakness, and sweaty palms.
People who are highly stimulated can make decisions quickly – even bad ones. Excitement releases dopamine, the neurotransmitter that makes us feel good, and this leads to impulsivity.
Impulsivity is especially high when rewards are uncertain, such as gambling. This psychological trait may make gambling addictive for some.
The uncertainty of an outcome amplifies brain activity, as do feelings of excitement experienced when one nearly wins a bet. The amount of dopamine released following such an event correlates with how serious an individual’s gambling addiction may be.
Social Interaction
Gambling is often driven by social interaction. This involves exchange, competition, conflict resolution, cooperation and accommodation.
Interpersonal communication refers to people engaging with others through various methods, such as face-to-face contact or text messages. The primary motivation for this kind of engagement lies in receiving rewards from others.
These rewards offer people the chance to express themselves and become more successful within their society. Furthermore, they foster a sense of belonging within a group.
Gambling can be a stressful and emotionally draining activity. It has the potential to negatively affect someone’s self-worth as well as relationships with friends, family members, and coworkers.
Reward Uncertainty
One of the primary motivations for gambling is the expectation of financial gains. This can be seen in the fact that many members of society spend money on gambling activities.
Many gamble for various reasons, such as to win money, socialize or escape negative feelings. Unfortunately, this motivation often comes with a high degree of uncertainty attached.
Studies in both educational and neuroscience literature have examined the effect of reward uncertainty on memory. Results demonstrate that learning is enhanced when rewards are uncertain (Ozcelik et al., 2013), though these studies often confound reward uncertainty with other factors like expected value.
These results suggest that uncertainty may facilitate memory encoding of reward cues by inducing risk aversion in response to them. This finding is in line with psychological theories of utility which incorporate risk aversion through a concave utility function. Furthermore, uncertainty plays an integral role in memory consolidation processes.
