The specificity of attentional biases by type of gambling: An eye-tracking study

PLoS One. 2018 Jan 31;13(1):e0190614. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0190614. eCollection 2018.

Abstract

A growing body of research indicates that gamblers develop an attentional bias for gambling-related stimuli. Compared to research on substance use, however, few studies have examined attentional biases in gamblers using eye-gaze tracking, which has many advantages over other measures of attention. In addition, previous studies of attentional biases in gamblers have not directly matched type of gambler with personally-relevant gambling cues. The present study investigated the specificity of attentional biases for individual types of gambling using an eye-gaze tracking paradigm. Three groups of participants (poker players, video lottery terminal/slot machine players, and non-gambling controls) took part in one test session in which they viewed 25 sets of four images (poker, VLTs/slot machines, bingo, and board games). Participants' eye fixations were recorded throughout each 8-second presentation of the four images. The results indicated that, as predicted, the two gambling groups preferentially attended to their primary form of gambling, whereas control participants attended to board games more than gambling images. The findings have clinical implications for the treatment of individuals with gambling disorder. Understanding the importance of personally-salient gambling cues will inform the development of effective attentional bias modification treatments for problem gamblers.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Attention*
  • Case-Control Studies
  • Eye Movements*
  • Gambling*
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Young Adult

Grants and funding

This work was funded through a small grant from the Alberta Gambling Research Institute (AGRI), http://www.abgamblinginstitute.ca. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.