Analysis of Schedule-Induced Consumption and Grooming in Humans during a Simulated Slot Machine Task
Date of Award
8-2017
Culminating Project Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Applied Behavior Analysis: M.S.
Department
Community Psychology, Counseling and Family Therapy
College
School of Health and Human Services
First Advisor
Benjamin N. Witts
Second Advisor
Michele Traub
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Keywords and Subject Headings
Gambling, Adjunctive Behavior, Schedule-Induced Behavior, Concurrent Consumption
Abstract
Problem gambling is a burden to the individual gambler and society. Efforts to study the development of problem gambling are thus socially important. Consumption has been demonstrated to have a relation with increased gambling persistence, but little research has been done on concurrent consumption and gambling. Schedule-induced behavior, or adjunctive behavior, may provide a possible means to study concurrent consumption and gambling. In an effort to better understand factors that might contribute to problem gambling, four experiments were conducted that involved manipulations of a simulated slot machine with concurrent access to food and non-alcoholic drink. All experiments consisted of two, approximately 30-minute, sessions. Experiment 1 had six participants complete the same win conditions across sessions. Experiment 2 had six participants complete different win conditions across sessions. Experiment 3 had six participants complete the same win conditions across sessions, while the simulation played on its own. Experiment 4 had six participants complete two sessions of the same win conditions, but with light sequences that were altered across sessions. While participants did not display the characteristic pattern of schedule-induced behavior in a molecular win-to-win analysis, other molar session-wide patterns emerged with regards to consumption and grooming. Implications for human schedule-induced behavior and gambling research are discussed.
Recommended Citation
Rzeszutek, Mark J., "Analysis of Schedule-Induced Consumption and Grooming in Humans during a Simulated Slot Machine Task" (2017). Culminating Projects in Community Psychology, Counseling and Family Therapy. 41.
https://repository.stcloudstate.edu/cpcf_etds/41
