School of Psychology (A18), The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 2006, Australia.
J Gambl Stud. 2013 Dec;29(4):631-45. doi: 10.1007/s10899-012-9329-6.
Learning theory predicts that, given the repeated choice to bet between two concurrently available slot machines, gamblers will learn to bet more money on the machine with higher expected return (payback percentage) or higher win probability per spin (volatility). The purpose of this study was to investigate whether this occurs when the two machines vary orthogonally on payback percentage and volatility. The sample comprised 52 first year psychology students (mean age = 20.3 years, 20 females, 32 males) who had played a gaming machine at least once in the previous 12 months. Participants were administered a battery of questionnaires designed to assess level of knowledge on the characteristics and operation of poker machines, frequency of poker machine play in the past 12 months, personality traits of impulsivity and capacity for cognitive reflection, and gambling beliefs. For the experimental task, participants were instructed to play on two PC-simulated electronic gaming machines (EGMs or slot machines) that differed on payback percentage and volatility, with the option of freely switching between EGMs after a practice phase. Results indicated that participants were able to easily discriminate between machines and manifested a preference to play machines offering higher payback or volatility. These findings diverged from previous findings of no preference for play on higher payback/volatility machines, potentially due to of the current study's absence of the option to make multi-line and multi-credit bets. It was concluded that return rate parameters like payback percentage and volatility strongly influenced slot machine preference in the absence of betting options like multi-line bets, though more research is needed to determine the effects of such betting options on player distribution of money between multiple EGMs.
学习理论预测，在反复选择两种同时可用的老虎机下注的情况下，赌徒将学会在预期回报（回报率）较高或每轮旋转获胜概率（波动性）较高的机器上投入更多的钱。本研究的目的是调查当两台机器在回报率和波动性上正交变化时是否会发生这种情况。样本包括 52 名第一年心理学学生（平均年龄= 20.3 岁，20 名女性，32 名男性），他们在过去 12 个月中至少玩过一次老虎机。参与者接受了一系列问卷的评估，旨在评估他们对老虎机特点和操作的了解程度、过去 12 个月中玩老虎机的频率、冲动和认知反射能力的个性特征，以及赌博信念。在实验任务中，参与者被指示在两个 PC 模拟的电子老虎机（EGM 或老虎机）上玩，这些机器在回报率和波动性上有所不同，在实践阶段后可以自由切换 EGM。结果表明，参与者能够轻松区分机器，并表现出对提供更高回报率或波动性的机器的偏好。这些发现与之前没有对高回报率/高波动性机器进行偏好的发现不同，这可能是由于当前研究缺乏多线和多信用投注的选择。研究结论认为，回报率参数（如回报率和波动性）在没有多线投注等投注选项的情况下，强烈影响老虎机的偏好，尽管需要更多的研究来确定这些投注选项对玩家在多个老虎机之间分配资金的影响。
