Humanizing Machines: Anthropomorphization of Slot Machines Increases Gambling.
Do people gamble more on slot machines if they think that they are playing against humanlike minds rather than mathematical algorithms? Research has shown that people have a strong cognitive tendency to imbue humanlike mental states to nonhuman entities (i.e., anthropomorphism). The present research...
| Published in: | Journal of Experimental Psychology. Applied Vol. 21; no. 4; pp. 313 - 326 |
|---|---|
| Main Authors: | , , |
| Format: | Article |
| Published: |
American Psychological Association
Dec2015
|
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | View this record in EBSCOhost |
| fields | @attributes: recordID: 1 pdfLink: plink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ssf&AN=111511643&site=ehost-live header: @attributes: shortDbName: ssf uiTerm: 111511643 longDbName: Social Sciences Full Text (H.W. Wilson) uiTag: AN controlInfo: bkinfo: jinfo: jid: 1076898X 6QS jtl: Journal of Experimental Psychology. Applied issn: 1076898X maglogo: N pubinfo: dt: Dec2015 vid: 21 iid: 4 pid: 34 pub: American Psychological Association artinfo: ui: 111511643 10.1037/xap0000057 ppf: 313 ppct: 13 formats: tig: atl: Humanizing Machines: Anthropomorphization of Slot Machines Increases Gambling. aug: au: Riva, Paolo Sacchi, Simona Brambilla, Marco affil: University of Milano-Bicocca su: Gambling behavior Cognition Human behavior Slot machines Gambler psychology Gambling industry Anthropomorphism sug: subj: Gambling behavior Cognition Human behavior All Other Personal Services All Other Miscellaneous Manufacturing All other gambling industries Casinos (except Casino Hotels) Other Gambling Industries Slot machines Gambler psychology Gambling industry Anthropomorphism keyword: anthropomorphism gambling mind attribution slot machines social cognition anthropomorphism gambling mind attribution slot machines social cognition ab: Do people gamble more on slot machines if they think that they are playing against humanlike minds rather than mathematical algorithms? Research has shown that people have a strong cognitive tendency to imbue humanlike mental states to nonhuman entities (i.e., anthropomorphism). The present research tested whether anthropomorphizing slot machines would increase gambling. Four studies manipulated slot machine anthropomorphization and found that exposing people to an anthropomorphized description of a slot machine increased gambling behavior and reduced gambling outcomes. Such findings emerged using tasks that focused on gambling behavior (Studies 1 to 3) as well as in experimental paradigms that included gambling outcomes (Studies 2 to 4). We found that gambling outcomes decrease because participants primed with the anthropomorphic slot machine gambled more (Study 4). Furthermore, we found that high-arousal positive emotions (e.g., feeling excited) played a role in the effect of anthropomorphism on gambling behavior (Studies 3 and 4). Our research indicates that the psychological process of gambling-machine anthropomorphism can be advantageous for the gaming industry; however, this may come at great expense for gamblers' (and their families') economic resources and psychological well-being. pubtype: Academic Journal doctype: Article src: R language: English refInfo: copyright: @attributes: flag: N holdings: @attributes: islocal: N |
|---|