Behavioural economics research has found that people are willing to trade financial gain for being treated equitably. However, being socially excluded can result in poorer financial decision-making. Among people experiencing problem gambling (PG), the influence of social exclusion has not been fully explored.
The researchers recruited 203 adults who gambled at least once a week in the past year for an online experiment. Participants were randomly assigned to a social rejection or social inclusion condition. They then played a game where they accepted or rejected fair and unfair monetary offers. Overall, participants were more likely to accept fair offers than unfair offers. However, when people experiencing PG were socially rejected, they were more likely to accept unfair offers, suggesting that social exclusion could undermine prosocial tendencies and fair decision-making in people with PG. This effect was not seen in people with lower-risk gambling. These results could be of interest to researchers and treatment providers, who may want to address social exclusion and stigma.
