Near-wins and near-losses in gambling: a behavioral and facial EMG study.
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Abstract
This study investigated responses to near-wins (i.e., nonwin outcomes that were close to a major win, and their counterpart, near-losses (nonwin outcomes that are proximal to a major loss) in a decision-making task, measuring (a) luck ratings, (b) adjustment of bet amount, and (c) facial muscle reactivity at zygomaticus and corrugator sites. Compared to full-misses, near-wins decreased self-perceived luck and near-losses increased self-perceived luck, consistent with the effects of upward versus downward counterfactual thinking, respectively. Wins and losses both increased zygomaticus reactivity, and losses selectively enhanced corrugator reactivity. Near-wins heightened zygomaticus activity, but did not affect corrugator activity, thus showing a similar response pattern to actual wins. There were no significant facial EMG effects of near-losses. We infer that near-wins engender some appetitive processing, despite their objective nonwin status.
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This is thefinal published version. It originally appeared at http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/psyp.12336/abstract.
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1469-8986
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Sponsorship
Wellcome Trust (093875/Z/10/Z)
Medical Research Council (G1000183)