Date of Award

5-2007

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

Psychology

Abstract

Native American populations have been found to have a two to five times higher rate of problematic gambling than non-Native American populations, but little research from the behavior-analytic and culture perspective has been done on the topic. The present study consisted of an experiment that had male participants play a computer-simulated slot machine. The variables manipulated were the ethnicity of the participant, the research confederate and confederate action. This experiment investigated each variable using a within-subjects design. Each participant (N=16) was required to complete five gambling sessions. Results showed that the confederate's actions during the leave sessions influenced the gambling behavior of the participants. The findings of this study may have potential implications for why some people display "problem gambling." This research will also hopefully promote research on a topic that has been largely ignored by the field of behavior analysis.

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