Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
J Gambl Stud. 2012 Sep;28(3):379-91. doi: 10.1007/s10899-011-9263-z.
According to the social axioms framework, people's beliefs about how the world functions (i.e., internal or external locus of control) are related to their social behaviors. Previous researchers have attempted to relate locus of control to gambling behavior, but the results have not been clear-cut. The present study speculated that the effects of perceived control (i.e., belief in luck and belief in skill) on gambling behavior are domain-specific and vary with the type of gambling. A total of 306 adult Macau residents ranging in age from 18 to 65 with casino gambling experience were recruited by going door to door. Empirical data on gambling frequency and perceived control relating to 13 types of gambling were collected. Our results demonstrated that the effects of belief in luck or skill on gambling behavior varied across different gambling categories. Specifically, for football lottery, Chinese lottery, and baccarat, it was not belief in skill but rather belief in luck that was a positive significant predictor of gambling frequency. Only for slot machines and stud poker did belief in skill significantly predict gambling frequency. For the remaining eight gambling categories, neither belief in luck nor belief in skill could predict gambling frequency. Our findings indicate that neither internal nor external locus of control can consistently explain people's gambling behaviors. Instead, which factor plays a greater role in a person's gambling behavior is dependent on the gambling type. Therefore, the finding that not all gambles are created equal might be a promising avenue for further research and treatment approaches.
根据社会规范框架，人们对世界运作方式的信念（即内部控制或外部控制）与他们的社会行为有关。先前的研究人员试图将控制源与赌博行为联系起来，但结果并不明确。本研究推测，感知控制（即对运气和技能的信念）对赌博行为的影响是特定于领域的，并且因赌博类型而异。通过挨家挨户的方式招募了 306 名年龄在 18 岁至 65 岁之间、有赌场赌博经验的澳门成年居民。收集了关于 13 种赌博类型的赌博频率和感知控制的实证数据。我们的研究结果表明，对运气或技能的信念对不同赌博类别的赌博行为的影响是不同的。具体来说，对于足球彩票、中国彩票和百家乐，是对运气的信念而不是对技能的信念，是赌博频率的积极显著预测因素。只有对于老虎机和梭哈，对技能的信念才会显著预测赌博频率。对于其余八个赌博类别，运气或技能的信念都不能预测赌博频率。我们的研究结果表明，内部控制或外部控制都不能始终如一地解释人们的赌博行为。相反，哪个因素在一个人的赌博行为中扮演更大的角色取决于赌博类型。因此，并非所有赌博都是平等的这一发现可能是进一步研究和治疗方法的一个有前途的途径。
