Date of Award

1-1-2013

Language

English

Document Type

Master's Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

College/School/Department

Department of Psychology

Program

Clinical Psychology

Content Description

1 online resource (ii, 32 pages) : PDF file, illustrations

Dissertation/Thesis Chair

Edelgard Wulfert

Committee Members

Robert Rosellini

Keywords

cue reactivity, extinction, gambling, renewal, slot machine, Gambling, Slot machines, Arousal (Physiology), Extinction (Psychology)

Subject Categories

Psychology

Abstract

The objective of this study was to explore whether an appetitive response extinguished in one context would remain extinguished when tested in the extinction context, but show renewal when tested in a different context. Forty college students played a slot machine while their physiological arousal (skin conductance and heart rate) and desire to play were being recorded. During the acquisition phase, wins on the slot machine were associated with a tone serving as a conditioned stimulus (CS) that preceded the machine's payout (US) and elicited conditioned arousal. During the following extinction phase, the CS was presented repeatedly without the US to extinguish the arousal response to that tone (i.e., Pavlovian extinction). In a test phase conducted one day later, participants' response to the CS was tested in one of two follow-up contexts to which they had been randomized: the same context (AAA design) or a different context (AAB design). Results of the current study indicate that participants' skin conductance, heart rate, and subjective desire did not differ significantly between the two follow-up contexts.

Download

Included in

Psychology Commons

Share

COinS