Autonomic responses to electronic gambling wins and losses of equivalent magnitude

Abstract

Event Abstract Back to Event Autonomic responses to electronic gambling wins and losses of equivalent magnitude Michelle Maiuolo1, Phoebe E. Bailey1*, Tarren Leon1, Gülten Benedek2 and Craig J. Gonsalvez1 1 Western Sydney University, School of Social Sciences and Psychology, Australia 2 University of Hagen, School of Psychology, Germany Previous electronic gambling machine (EGM) studies have measured phasic heart rate (HR) and skin conductance responses (SCRs) to show that wins are more arousing than losses. However, it is unclear if this is because wins are typically of larger magnitude and reduced frequency relative to losses, or if participants are responding specifically to the financial gain. The current study therefore examined whether win and loss outcomes of the same magnitude and frequency would generate HR and SCRs relative to baseline, and whether the magnitude of these responses would differ as a function of the event type (win, loss). As an exploratory aim, we assessed whether there are age differences in autonomic responding to EGM outcomes. Young (n = 19; age range 18-35 years) and older participants (n = 26; age range 66-84 years) were given 1000 credits ($10) to bet with on a simulated EGM, and each bet cost 10 credits. After every win (60 credits) and fake win (5 credits), participants were forced to choose red or black to either double their win or lose it. For example, a win of 60 credits could subsequently result in a further gain of 60 credits or a loss of 60 credits. There were 48 such double-or-nothing features and the probability of winning was 50%. HR and SCR were continuously monitored and were then analyzed every 0.5 s from 1.5 s pre- to 6 s post-outcome. Wins and losses produced HR and SCR increases relative to baseline, but unlike previous studies, responding was not larger to wins relative to losses. Similarly, older adults’ SCRs were greater for larger outcomes following a win compared with smaller outcomes following a fake win. In summary, autonomic responding to wins may index generalized excitement rather than financial gain for both young and older adults. Acknowledgements This research was supported under Australian Research Council’s Discovery Projects funding scheme (project number DP130101420). Keywords: simulated electronic gambling, Heart Rate, Skin conductance response, Electrodermal activity, win and loss magnitude Conference: ASP2015 - 25th Annual Conference of the Australasian Society for Psychophysiology, Sydney, Australia, 2 Dec - 4 Dec, 2015. Presentation Type: Poster Presentation Topic: Psychophysiology Citation: Maiuolo M, Bailey PE, Leon T, Benedek G and Gonsalvez CJ (2015). Autonomic responses to electronic gambling wins and losses of equivalent magnitude. Conference Abstract: ASP2015 - 25th Annual Conference of the Australasian Society for Psychophysiology. doi: 10.3389/conf.fnhum.2015.219.00004 Copyright: The abstracts in this collection have not been subject to any Frontiers peer review or checks, and are not endorsed by Frontiers. They are made available through the Frontiers publishing platform as a service to conference organizers and presenters. The copyright in the individual abstracts is owned by the author of each abstract or his/her employer unless otherwise stated. Each abstract, as well as the collection of abstracts, are published under a Creative Commons CC-BY 4.0 (attribution) licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) and may thus be reproduced, translated, adapted and be the subject of derivative works provided the authors and Frontiers are attributed. For Frontiers’ terms and conditions please see https://www.frontiersin.org/legal/terms-and-conditions. Received: 10 Nov 2015; Published Online: 30 Nov 2015. * Correspondence: Dr. Phoebe E Bailey, Western Sydney University, School of Social Sciences and Psychology, Sydney, Australia, p.bailey@uws.edu.au Login Required This action requires you to be registered with Frontiers and logged in. To register or login click here. Abstract Info Abstract The Authors in Frontiers Michelle Maiuolo Phoebe E Bailey Tarren Leon Gülten Benedek Craig J Gonsalvez Google Michelle Maiuolo Phoebe E Bailey Tarren Leon Gülten Benedek Craig J Gonsalvez Google Scholar Michelle Maiuolo Phoebe E Bailey Tarren Leon Gülten Benedek Craig J Gonsalvez PubMed Michelle Maiuolo Phoebe E Bailey Tarren Leon Gülten Benedek Craig J Gonsalvez Related Article in Frontiers Google Scholar PubMed Abstract Close Back to top Javascript is disabled. Please enable Javascript in your browser settings in order to see all the content on this page.