Machine design features

Question 1

Reinforcement schedules

Answer 1

• Variable ratio; Diff amount of responses till reward.
  = Best for casino: low amount of rewards, high response
• Fixed ratio: Fixed amount of response till reward. High amount of response but high amount of reward
• Fixed interval: Fixed amount of time between rewards. Long time but low amount of response (rapid near time of reinf)
• Variable interval: Different amount of time between rewards. steady responding.

Question 2

Timing & stakes

Answer 2

Time: Quick response causes higher amount of response. The shorter the time the more addictive. Regulated in Holland, must be >4s. Also reason why lottery problems are virtually non existent

Stakes: The higher the stakes, the higher addiction potential. Also regulated, max loss is 40 euro/hour

Question 3

audiovisual conditioned reinforcers

Answer 3

Sounds
Lights (no daylight, make you lose track of time)
Animations
etc

Question 4

Near-miss effect

Answer 4

Near win, reinforcement without reward, eg highlighting 2 of 3 when you need 3.

Increased arousal in the NAcc (reward circuitry) , heart rate etc.

Question 5

Losses disguised as wins

Answer 5

Conditioned reinforcer masks loss, sound/visual makes it look like win, even if you lost more.

Overestimated win frequencies are result;
Multi line betting. making it complicated with smaller wins.