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Do you believe a lucky number will help you win in roulette? Or chanting while pulling
the slot machine handle will make the bell ring? If you believe a ritual of behaviours
and lucky charms help you win when gambling, you’re among the large number of
Canadians who have irrational gambling beliefs – and you could be part of the
research Natalie Miller is conducting.
“This research helped me decide I really want to do research as part of my career,” says
Miller, who recently won the Student Research Award from the Alberta Mental Health
Board’s Mental Health Research Showcase for this work. “Many psychology students
say they want to go to grad school and do research but they can’t possibly understand
what that would mean if they don’t seek out hands-on research opportunities.”
Miller is currently analysing data about Canadian gamblers to better understand how
gambling cognition relates to gambling tendencies. “I’m quite interested in understanding
how people’s irrational beliefs are related to their gambling tendencies,” says Miller.
“For example, when gamblers engage in risky behaviors, such as borrowing money to
gamble, those gamblers with irrational gambling beliefs, such as using lucky rituals,
spend twice as much as the rational gamblers.”
“In classroom assignments, research is often little more than a huge literature review,”
says Miller. “During this project, I was the one making decisions about variables and
what we’d be exploring in the research. This experience solidified my research and
analytical skills. It allowed me to clarify what research really means.
“It’s really interesting that intelligent people can be quite irrational when it comes to
gambling outcomes,” says Miller, a psychology honours student. “The reality is that all
gambling outcomes are random. So if people are gambling beyond their financial
means, then their misconceptions about influencing the gambling outcomes becomes
important.” Miller expects the research findings will be published and enter the body of
knowledge about gambling addictions.
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