Derived Relations and Attentional Bias for Near-Misses in Slot Machines

This study investigates the influence of derived relations on attentional bias toward near-misses in slot machine gambling, expanding on the consistent findings of the effect in gambling research. We aimed to replicate earlier findings by examining how learning to associate near-misses with a "loss" affects attentional bias to gambling-related stimuli. The study employed an experimental design in which 24 recreational gamblers were randomly assigned to one of two conditions in a relational training task: one group was trained to associate near-misses with the concept of "loss," the other with "almost." Participants engaged in a simulated slot machine game while their eye movements were tracked from which attentional bias for near-miss slot-machine outcomes was derived from eye-tracking data. The results revealed that participants who learned to associate near-misses with "loss" exhibited a significant reduction in their attentional bias for near-miss outcomes compared to those who learned to associate near-misses as being an "almost" gambling result. These findings further support problem gambling research indicating that near-misses are a potent event capable of capturing and maintaining attention, aligning with cognitive bias theories in gambling. Moreover, the study provides additional support for incentive-sensitization theory and suggests potential applications for targeted interventions in gambling disorders.