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Overview
Gambling cognitions describe distorted thinking and dysfunctional beliefs associated with harmful gambling. There have been numerous scales developed to assess gambling cognitions, including The Gambling Cognitions Inventory, the Gamblers' Beliefs Questionnaire, the Gambling Attitudes and Beliefs Survey, and the Gambling Related Cognitions Scale. Most scales used to assess gambling cognitions lump cognitions into general categories including: Illusions of Control (false beliefs about personal skill and judgment), Luck/Chance (erroneous perceptions regarding randomness and the independence of events), and Superstitions (rituals and beliefs surrounding the ability to influence outcomes).
Key Points
Research on gambling cognitions suggests that problem gamblers tend to endorse more cognitions than recreational gamblers. However, it is unclear how these gambling cognitions develop, and whether or not problem gamblers simply have a predisposition to believe in them (due to some individual level difference). The latest research suggests a bi-directional relationship between gambling severity and gambling cognitions.
Search the Evidence Centre for Gambling Cognitions
References
Nicholson, R., Graves, C., Ellery, M., & Afifi, T. O. (2016). The Temporal Relationship Between Faulty Gambling Cognitions and Gambling Severity in Young Adults. Journal of Gambling Studies, 1-15.
Goodie, A. S., & Fortune, E. E. (2013). Measuring cognitive distortions in pathological gambling: Review and meta-analyses. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 27(3), 730.
Joukhador, J., Maccallum, F., & Blaszczynski, A. (2003). Differences in cognitive distortions between problem and social gamblers. Psychological reports, 92(3 Pt 2), 1203-1214.
Fortune, E. E., & Goodie, A. S. (2012). Cognitive distortions as a component and treatment focus of pathological gambling: a review. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 26(2), 298.