Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40504292›Full record

ArticleJournal of gambling studies2025

Effects of Audiovisual Cues on Game Immersion during Simulated Slot Machine Gambling.

Fiza Arshad, Mario A Ferrari, W Spencer Murch, Mariya V Cherkasova, Eve H Limbrick-Oldfield, Catharine A Winstanley, Luke Clark

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of gambling studies, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing 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

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Review
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

7 authors.

Fiza ArshadDjavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health, Graduate Program in Neuroscience, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada. fiza.arshad.ali@gmail.com.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5558-7748
Mario A FerrariDepartment of Psychology, Centre for Gambling Research at UBC, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
W Spencer MurchDepartment of Anthropology and Sociology, Concordia University, Montreal, QC, Canada.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2780-3578
Mariya V CherkasovaDepartment of Psychology, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4750-8093
Eve H Limbrick-OldfieldDepartment of Psychology, Centre for Gambling Research at UBC, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5400-8030
Catharine A WinstanleyDjavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health, Graduate Program in Neuroscience, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7032-4471
Luke ClarkDjavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health, Graduate Program in Neuroscience, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1103-2422

Funding

Institute of Neurosciences, Mental Health and Addiction PJT-056012Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada RGPIN-2023-03528
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Modern slot machines can create immersive experiences for gamblers. Design features, including audiovisual cues, may influence these experiences, potentially interacting with personal risk factors for disordered gambling. According to the incentive salience hypothesis of addiction, reward-paired audiovisual cues strongly motivate behavior. This study manipulated audiovisual cues during simulated slot machine gambling to test the effects of varying intensities on self-reported immersion. Undergraduate students (n = 156) played a realistic slot machine simulation within an authentic cabinet. They experienced three intensities of audiovisual cues: Minus, Intermediate, and Plus. Participants completed self-report questionnaires, including a retrospective game immersion questionnaire. The pre-registered hypothesis was partially supported: the Intermediate cue condition was associated with greater game immersion than the Minus condition (p < 0.05). Exploratory models revealed higher total scores on the depression, anxiety, and stress scale predicted greater immersion in the Intermediate condition (p < 0.001). A Cue x Gender interaction was driven by greater immersion in the Intermediate cue condition among women, but not men (p < 0.05). Problem gambling severity predicted greater immersion across all models (p < 0.001). Audiovisual cues influenced immersion in slot machine gambling, supporting regulatory attention to audiovisual features as an engineered product aspect. Contrary to predictions, immersion was highest at the intermediate not maximal level of stimulation. Gender and affective symptoms also impacted immersion, indicating personal risk factors in susceptibility.

Indexed as

Behavior, AddictiveCuesGamblingAdolescentAdultFemaleHumansMaleMotivationRewardSurveys and QuestionnairesYoung AdultAudiovisual cuesGamblingImmersionPsychological flowSlot machine

Identifiers

PMID40504292
PMCPMC12657550

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.