C/- School of Psychology, Victoria University of Wellington, PO Box 600, Wellington, New Zealand.
J Gambl Stud. 2019 Dec;35(4):1361-1374. doi: 10.1007/s10899-018-09821-0.
Across two experiments, the current study investigated whether the balance displayed on slot-machine screens affects gamblers' decision making in a manner similar to the "house-money effect" observed in other gambling modes. The balance indicates the total amount the gambler has available to wager from. We manipulated initial slot-machine balance within a simulated slot-machine task. Participants gambled on each of two machines and then were able to switch between the two allowing us to assess the effect of machine balance on both preference and bet amounts. Experiment 1 also manipulated which machine incorporated a free-spins feature. In both experiments participants preferred to wager on, and made larger bets on, machines with higher balances. Experiment 1 replicated previous findings that people prefer to gamble on machines offering free spins. Together, these two experiments identify balance available as an additional slot-machine feature that contributes to slot-machine gambling behavior.
在两项实验中，本研究探讨了老虎机屏幕上显示的余额是否会以类似于在其他赌博模式中观察到的“本金效应”的方式影响赌徒的决策。余额表示赌徒可用于下注的总金额。我们在模拟老虎机任务中操纵初始老虎机余额。参与者在两台机器上进行赌博，然后可以在两台机器之间切换，这使我们能够评估机器余额对偏好和下注金额的影响。实验 1 还操纵了哪台机器包含免费旋转功能。在两项实验中，参与者更喜欢在余额较高的机器上下注，并下更大的注。实验 1 复制了先前的发现，即人们更喜欢在提供免费旋转的机器上赌博。总的来说，这两项实验确定了可用余额是一个额外的老虎机功能，有助于老虎机赌博行为。
