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It's not just the winning that is addicting to gamblers. More often, it's the losing. Losing recapitulates the feelings of deep shame that they feel, but don't
by prometheus76 3y ago
It's not just the winning that is addicting to gamblers. More often, it's the losing. Losing recapitulates the feelings of deep shame that they feel, but don't feel are necessarily justified. So in order to re-justify those feelings, they gamble away money and "act shamefully" so to speak.
This same pattern is behind a lot (if not all) addictions. It's not just a physical addiction or a dopamine rush, and it's not generally the upside that addicts are addicted to.
- worrycue 3y agoShame has nothing to do with it. It’s the variable ratio reinforcement schedule that such games employ.
- prometheus76 3y agoYou should read more about addiction. You're right about the mechanism employed, but that mechanism does not addict most people. There are genetic and social profiles that make one more vulnerable to addiction, and trauma from the past that results in deep, internalized shame increases those odds dramatically.