Title
Decreasing influence of arbitrarily applicable verbal relations of recreational gamblers: A randomized controlled trial
Abstract
Twenty‐one recreational gamblers were randomly assigned to two groups; one group was exposed to a conditional discrimination relational training task to bias choice allocation to a black machine presented concurrently with a red machine, and the other group underwent the same relational training task immediately followed by a defusion procedure, designed to expand upon the relations developed in the initial relational task. Both groups completed a simulated slot‐machine task before and after the relational training task, with or without the defusion procedure. Results showed that 9 of 11 participants in the relational training only group showed an increased bias toward the black machine, compared to only 4 of 10 in the relational training plus defusion group; this latter group also showed greater matched responding. Results suggest that expanding verbal–relational networks may reduce the influence of any single verbal relation on gambling choice behavior.
Department(s)
Psychology
Document Type
Article
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1002/jaba.511
Publication Date
10-5-2018
Recommended Citation
Belisle, Jordan, Dana Paliliunas, Mark R. Dixon, and Ryan C. Speelman. "Decreasing influence of arbitrarily applicable verbal relations of recreational gamblers: a randomized controlled trial." Journal of applied behavior analysis 52, no. 1 (2019): 60-72.
Journal Title
Journal of applied behavior analysis