ASPECTE METODOLOGICE A TESTĂRII DECIZIILOR LEGATE DE JOCURILE DE NOROC

Abstract

Gambling is a naturalistic and pervasive example of risky decision making, and thus gambling games can provide a paradigm for the investigation of human choice behavior and “irrationality.” Excessive gambling involvement (i.e., pathological gambling) is currently conceptualized as a behavioral addiction, and research on this condition may provide insights into addictive mechanisms in the absence of exogenous drug effects (Clark et al., 2013). The present paper aims to provide a concise overview of recent developments in our understanding of decision-making during gambling and the relevance of these processes to problem gambling (for comprehensive overviews, see van Hodgins et al., 2011; Leeman and Potenza, 2012 and others). Thus, several emerging methods of testing gambling-related decisions are elucidated, highlighting translational models, behavioral economic tasks, and cognitive distortions associated with gambling. These can be helpful in diagnosing and overcoming gambling addiction.