Evidence map›Paper›PMID 31664479›Full record

ArticlePsychopharmacology2020

The effects of alcohol on sequential decision-making biases during gambling.

Juliette Tobias-Webb, Eve H Limbrick-Oldfield, Silvia Vearncombe, Theodora Duka, Luke Clark

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In one paragraph

Article in Psychopharmacology, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
6citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

6 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Review
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. Article
  6. Gambling Self-Control Strategies: A Qualitative Analysis.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Juliette Tobias-WebbDepartment of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge, CB2 3EB, UK.
Eve H Limbrick-OldfieldDepartment of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge, CB2 3EB, UK.
Silvia VearncombeCambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust, Elizabeth House, Fulbourn Hospital, Cambridge, CB21 5EF, UK.
Theodora DukaBehavioural and Clinical Neuroscience, School of Psychology, University of Sussex, Pevensey I Building, Falmer, Brighton, BN1 9QH, UK.
Luke ClarkDepartment of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge, CB2 3EB, UK. luke.clark@psych.ubc.ca.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1103-2422

Funding

Centre for Gambling Research at UBC NAMedical Research Council G1100554Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada RGPIN-2017-04069
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

rationaleGambling and alcohol use are recreational behaviours that share substantial commonalities at a phenomenological, clinical and neurobiological level. Past studies have shown that alcohol can have a disinhibiting effect on gambling behaviour, in terms of bet size and persistence.

objectivesThis study was conducted in order to characterise how alcohol affects biases in judgment and decision-making that occur during gambling, with a focus on sequential decision-making including the gambler's fallacy.

methodsSequential biases were elicited via a roulette-based gambling task. Using a standard between-groups alcohol challenge procedure, male participants played the roulette task 20 min after receiving an alcoholic (0.8 g/kg; n = 22) or placebo (n = 16) beverage. The task measured colour choice decisions (red/black) and bet size, in response to varying lengths of colour runs and winning/losing feedback streaks.

resultsAcross both groups, a number of established sequential biases were observed. On colour choice, there was an effect of run length in line with the gambler's fallacy, which further varied by previous feedback (wins vs losses). Bet size increased with feedback streaks, especially for losing streaks. Compared to placebo, the alcohol group placed higher bets following losses compared to wins.

conclusionsIncreased bet size after losses following alcohol consumption may reflect increased loss chasing that may amplify gambling harms. Our results do not fit a simple pattern of enhanced gambling distortions or reward sensitivity, but help contextualise the effects of alcohol on gambling to research on decision-making biases.

Indexed as

RewardAdultAlcohol DrinkingDecision MakingDouble-Blind MethodFemaleGamblingHumansMaleYoung AdultAlcoholCognitive distortionsGamblingLoss chasingRoulette

Identifiers

PMID31664479

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.