Date of Award

7-2019

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science

Department

Psychological Science

Program

Other

Program

Applied Behavior Analysis

First Advisor/Chairperson

Jacob Daar

Abstract

Within the gambling literature, the misidentification of outcomes has been shown to affect gambling behaviors in players. A notably salient stimulus frequently cited as leading to the misidentification of wins is near-misses. Near-misses occur when the outcome of an event closely resembles a winning outcome, even though it is a loss. The current study intended to further investigate the effects of near-misses relative to wins and losses on player’s inter-trial latencies and the presence of the feedback-related negativity (FRN) and P300 event related potentials (ERPs) in a game of war card game. FRN is a negative fronto-central ERP component occurring 200 and 300 ms post-feedback, and P300 is positive centro-parietal ERP component occurring 300 to 600 ms post-feedback. The results of this study revealed decreased amplitudes for FRN and an unanticipated ERP component, N1, following winning outcomes than near-miss or loss outcomes. No differences were observed in latency to resume playing, average bet amount placed on the following round, or the amplitude of an additional unanticipated ERP component, P2. The P300 ERP component was not observed following feedback presentation onset. Near-misses and losses showed no differences across any of the measures included in the current study, indicating the lack of an observed near-miss effect when measuring from feedback presentation. Further studies are needed in order to assess the presence of any possible near-miss effects when measuring from card presentation onset rather than feedback presentation.

Access Type

Open Access

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