Anticipated regret, risk perception, or both: which is most likely responsible for our intention to gamble?
The current study investigated whether risk aversion or regret aversion could be related to a lower intention to gamble, and whether the type of gambling was a moderator of this relationship. The study took place in Macau, often called "the Las Vegas of East Asia." A total of 373 Macau residents completed a questionnaire survey dealing with thirteen types of gambling. The results showed that risk perception and anticipated regret had a significant negative effect on the intention to gamble. This negative effect was domain-specific, varying with the type of gambling. Our findings indicated that neither risk aversion nor regret aversion can uniquely explain an individual's risk-taking tendency consistently. Instead, which factor plays a greater role in lowering the intention to gamble-regret aversion, risk aversion, or both-is itself dependent on the type of gambling involved. The finding that not all gambles are created equal could be useful in gambling prevention and advertising appeal by providing a basis for understanding the role that cognitive and emotional factors play in different types of gambling.
Li
Shu
S
Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China.
Zhou
Kun
K
Sun
Yue
Y
Rao
Li-Lin
LL
Zheng
Rui
R
Liang
Zhu-Yuan
ZY
D000328:Adult; D016739:Behavior, Addictive / Q000523:psychology*; D002681:China; D002755:Choice Behavior; D003463:Cues; D005260:Female; D005715:Gambling / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D033182:Intention; D007389:Internal-External Control; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012309:Risk-Taking; D012931:Social Environment; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires