Explaining reinforcement and erroneous beliefs in pathological exercise: A commentary and expansion on Coniglio et al. (in press) using the pathways model of disordered gambling

Author(s):  
Nassim Tabri ◽  
Michael J. A. Wohl
Author(s):  
Nassim Tabri ◽  
Kaitlyn M. Werner ◽  
Marina Milyavskaya ◽  
Michael J. A. Wohl

Abstract Background and aims Perfectionism, a focused self-concept, and erroneous beliefs have been implicated in the development and maintenance of various disordered behaviors. However, researchers have yet to examine how these factors combine to explain different disordered behaviors. Herein, we addressed this gap and hypothesized a moderated-mediation model whereby perfectionism fosters the development of disordered behaviors through a focused self-concept. Critically, the effect of a focused self-concept on disordered behaviors is specific to people with erroneous beliefs about their disordered behaviors. The model was tested in the contexts of disordered gambling and disordered eating, particularly dietary restraint. Method In Study 1, participants were community members who gamble (N = 259). In Study 2, participants were university women (N = 219). In both studies, participants completed self-report measures of all constructs that are both reliable and valid. Results In Study 1, as expected, there was a positive association between perfectionism and disordered gambling, which was mediated by financially focused self-concept. This mediation was only observed among participants who scored high on illusion of control and belief in luck. Likewise, in Study 2, there was a positive association between perfectionism and dietary restraint, which was mediated by appearance focused self-concept. The mediation effect was only observed among participants who believed that maladaptive dietary restraint behaviors were safe and efficacious. Discussion and Conclusions The findings support the transdiagnostic utility of our model, which may help explain an array of disordered behaviors, including other addictive behaviors as well as behaviors that involve rigid adherence to rules and control.


1990 ◽  
Vol 17 (27) ◽  
pp. 59-73 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shin’ichi Ichikawa ◽  
Hiroshige Takeichi

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ruslan N. Tazhigulov ◽  
James R. Gayvert ◽  
Melissa Wei ◽  
Ksenia B. Bravaya

<p>eMap is a web-based platform for identifying and visualizing electron or hole transfer pathways in proteins based on their crystal structures. The underlying model can be viewed as a coarse-grained version of the Pathways model, where each tunneling step between hopping sites represented by electron transfer active (ETA) moieties is described with one effective decay parameter that describes protein-mediated tunneling. ETA moieties include aromatic amino acid residue side chains and aromatic fragments of cofactors that are automatically detected, and, in addition, electron/hole residing sites that can be specified by the users. The software searches for the shortest paths connecting the user-specified electron/hole source to either all surface-exposed ETA residues or to the user-specified target. The identified pathways are ranked based on their length. The pathways are visualized in 2D as a graph, in which each node represents an ETA site, and in 3D using available protein visualization tools. Here, we present the capability and user interface of eMap 1.0, which is available at https://emap.bu.edu.</p>


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Spencer Huggett ◽  
Evan Winiger ◽  
Rohan Palmer ◽  
John K. Hewitt ◽  
Robin P. Corley ◽  
...  

The multitude of gambling activities corresponds to heterogeneous ways of analyzing behavioral outcomes and may partially underlie the lack of replication in gambling research. The current study incorporated complementary analyses to provide an approach to investigate associations with multi-dimensional gambling data that we demonstrated in a discovery/community sample of 2,116 twins (54.86% female; Mage=24.90) and a replication/clinical sample of 619 siblings (30.37% female; Mage=28.00). Our proposed approach was twofold. First, we used confirmatory factor analyses (CFAs) to derive a general gambling frequency measure across eight gambling activities and to test the common liability hypothesis. Second, we conducted latent class analyses (LCAs) to derive gambling frequency subtypes and investigated their theoretical correspondence with the Pathways Model. Our study identified robust support for the common liability hypothesis of gambling, suggesting a shared mechanism for multiple gambling behaviors – including activities controversially defined as “gambling.” Using LCAs, we identified four novel gambling frequency subtypes with analogous behavioral profiles and correlates across samples and some resemblance with the Pathways Model. The subtype with the highest rates of problem gambling had a frequent appetite for particular gambling activities and demonstrated externalizing psychopathology comparable to the “antisocial impulsivist” pathway. Using co-twin control models, we determined that risk-taking, sensation seeking and antisocial personality disorder predicted gambling frequency above and beyond shared genetic and environmental factors. In sum, we illustrated the utility of multi-dimensional statistical techniques for disentangling the structure and typology of different gambling behaviors and discussed our results in context of the psychometric, empirical and theoretical implications.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-27
Author(s):  
Leon Y. Xiao ◽  
Laura L. Henderson ◽  
Yuhan Yang ◽  
Philip W. S. Newall

Abstract Loot boxes provide randomized rewards in video games; their purchase is linked to disordered gambling and they are present in approximately half of UK video games. The relative novelty of loot boxes means that regulators and policymakers in various jurisdictions are still deciding how to regulate them. The People's Republic of China (PRC) is the first, and presently only, jurisdiction to legally require companies to disclose the probabilities of obtaining randomized loot box rewards – an approach that is also favored by the industry as self-regulation. This study is the first to assess paid loot box prevalence in the PRC and companies’ discretionary interpretations of probability disclosure regulations. Loot boxes were found in 91 of the 100 highest-grossing PRC iPhone games. Of games deemed suitable for children aged 12+, 90.5% contained loot boxes. Probability disclosures could not be found for 4.4% of games containing loot boxes. Disclosures were implemented through various methods both in-game and on the games’ official websites; however, consistent with the concept of ‘sludge,’ only 5.5% used the most prominent format of automatically displaying the probabilities on the in-game loot box purchase page. Loot box probability disclosures should be uniform and visually prominent to best help inform consumers.


2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
pp. 2103
Author(s):  
Laura Nicklin ◽  
Stuart Gordon Spicer ◽  
James Close Close ◽  
Jonathan Parke ◽  
Oliver Smith ◽  
...  

Excessive engagement with (increasingly prevalent) loot boxes within games has consistently been linked with disordered gambling and/or gaming. The importance of recognising and managing potential risks associated with loot box involvement means understanding contributing factors is a pressing research priority. Given that motivations for gaming and gambling have been informative in understanding risky engagement with those behaviours, this qualitative study investigated motivations for buying loot boxes, through in-depth interviews with 28 gamers from across the UK. A reflexive thematic analysis categorised reasons for buying into seven “themes”; opening experience; value of box contents; game-related elements; social influences; emotive/impulsive influences; fear of missing out; triggers/facilitators. These themes are described in detail and discussed in relation to the existing literature and motivation theories. This study contributes to understanding ways in which digital items within loot boxes can be highly valued by purchasers, informing the debate around parallels with gambling. Findings that certain motivations were disproportionately endorsed by participants with symptoms of problematic gambling has potential implications for policy and warrants further study.


Author(s):  
Hanoch Dagan ◽  
Ohad Somech

Modern contract law accords considerable significance to the basic assumptions on which a contract is made. It thus takes to heart a failure of a belief whose truthfulness is taken for granted by both parties. Where the failure results from the parties’ mistake at the time of formation, “the contract is voidable by the adversely affected party,” if that mistake “has a material effect on the agreed exchange of performances” and unless that party “bears the risk of the mistake.”1 Where, in turn, the failure of such a basic assumption results from the parties’ erroneous beliefs about future states of the world, a party’s duty to render performance may be discharged if they are not responsible for the supervening impracticability or frustration and “unless the language or the circumstances indicate the contrary.”2


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