Simulated die-rolling behaviours express illusions of control in regular gamblers

ABSTRACT

Illusions of control (IOC) – beliefs that actions or rituals can influence ostensibly probabilistic game outcomes – are typically studied using questionnaires, think-aloud methods, or inferred from shifts in betting patterns following manipulations of IOC. However, naturalistic studies of dice-based games (e.g. ‘Craps’) suggest that IOC can be manifest in players’ motor actions: e.g. rolling dice hard to hit higher value outcomes. Here, in three experiments, we investigated the action-based expression of IOC while rolling a single computer-simulated die for monetary prizes in samples of community-recruited gamblers. We report (i) that action-based expressions of IOC are dependent on the congruence of game features (i.e. larger winning numbers linked to larger value prizes); (ii) that action-based expressions of IOC can reflect the joint betting of gambling co-actors (as a form of ‘illusion of control by proxy’) and (iii) that prior induction of motor-caution can weaken the links between the action-based expression of IOC and gamblers’ self-report beliefs that game outcomes can be controlled. These data indicate that gambling-related IOC can be expressed in the action repertoires afforded by gambling games; can reflect their structural features and social contexts; and can be disrupted by the modulation of inhibitory control over motor behaviour.

KEYWORDS:

• Problem gambling
• cognitive behavioural therapy
• betting
• erroneous cognitions
• illusions of control

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Conflict of interest

Competing interests

The authors do not have any competing interests to declare.

Constraints on publishing

No constraints on publishing were stipulated by Oxford University.

Notes

1. (Bank) craps is the most popular casino-based table game that has a vital aspect of active involvement through the rolling of (pairs of) dice to win bets on combinations of dice outcomes for monetary prizes.

Additional information

Funding

This work was not supported by any grant; ML received funding from Oxford University as a doctoral student on this project. Oxford University had no involvement in the research design, methodology, conduct, analysis or write-up.