Kimberly R. Zlomke & Mark R. Dixon. (2006)
Modification of slot-machine preferences through the use of a conditional
discrimination paradigm.
Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis,
39, 351-361.
The present experiment investigated the impact of contextually trained
discriminations on gambling behavior. Nine recreational slot-machine players
were initially exposed to concurrently available computerized slot machines
that were each programmed on random-ratio schedules of reinforcement and
differed only in color. All participants distributed responding equally across
the two slot machines. A conditional discrimination procedure was then used to
teach the contextual cues representing the arbitrary relations of “greater
than” and “less than.” Following contextual cue training, participants were
reexposed to the concurrent slot-machine task. After training of the contextual
cues, a higher proportion of responses were made to the slot machine that shared
formal properties (i.e., color) with the contextual cue representing “greater than.”
DESCRIPTORS: choice, gambling, self-rules, verbal behavior