Taylor Lorance F, Macaskill Anne C, Hunt Maree J
School of Psychology, Victoria University of Wellington, PO Box 600, Wellington, New Zealand.
J Gambl Stud. 2017 Jun;33(2):555-577. doi: 10.1007/s10899-016-9630-x.
Despite increasing research into how the structural characteristics of slot machines influence gambling behaviour there have been no experimental investigations into the effect of free-spins bonus features-a structural characteristic that is commonly central to the design of slot machines. This series of three experiments investigated the free-spins feature using slot machine simulations to determine whether participants allocate more wagers to a machine with free spins, and, which components of free-spins features drive this preference. In each experiment, participants were exposed to two computer-simulated slot machines-one with a free-spins feature or similar bonus feature and one without. Participants then completed a testing phase where they could freely switch between the two machines. In Experiment 1, participants did not prefer the machine with a simple free-spins feature. In Experiment 2 the free-spins feature incorporated additional elements such as sounds, animations, and an increased win frequency; participants preferred to gamble on this machine. The Experiment 3 "bonus feature" machine resembled the free spins machine in Experiment 2 except spins were not free; participants showed a clear preference for this machine also. These findings indicate that (1) free-spins features have a major influence over machine choice and (2) the "freeness" of the free-spins bonus features is not an important driver of preference, contrary to self-report and interview research with gamblers.
尽管对老虎机的结构特征如何影响赌博行为的研究越来越多，但对于免费旋转奖励特征（这是老虎机设计中通常核心的结构特征）的影响，尚未有实验性研究。这一系列的三个实验使用老虎机模拟来研究免费旋转特征，以确定参与者是否会将更多赌注分配到具有免费旋转功能的机器上，以及免费旋转特征的哪些组成部分驱动了这种偏好。在每个实验中，参与者会接触到两台计算机模拟的老虎机——一台具有免费旋转功能或类似奖励特征，另一台没有。然后参与者完成一个测试阶段，在此阶段他们可以在两台机器之间自由切换。在实验1中，参与者并不偏好具有简单免费旋转特征的机器。在实验2中，免费旋转特征加入了声音、动画和更高的赢率等额外元素；参与者更倾向于在这台机器上赌博。实验3的“奖励特征”机器与实验2中的免费旋转机器类似，只是旋转不是免费的；参与者也对这台机器表现出明显的偏好。这些发现表明：（1）免费旋转特征对机器选择有重大影响；（2）与对赌徒的自我报告和访谈研究相反，免费旋转奖励特征的“免费性”并非偏好的重要驱动因素。
