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An experiment on the perceived efficacy of fear-based messages in online roulette

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Version 2 2023-02-21, 00:58
Version 1 2023-01-30, 04:42
journal contribution
posted on 2023-11-22, 00:01 authored by S Mutti-Packer, HS Kim, DS McGrath, EV Ritchie, MJA Wohl, Matthew RockloffMatthew Rockloff, DC Hodgins
The current study examined the emotional and cognitive evaluations as well as the perceived efficacy of fear-based, text-only pop-up messages. The pop-up messages were presented when viewing a 3-minute prerecorded video of online roulette play. Fifty-nine people who gamble online viewed both low- and high-threat messages that reflected, by random assignment, either the financial (n= 27) or social (n= 32) consequences of gambling. Participants then reported their emotional and cognitive evaluations of the messages, as well as their perceived efficacy to facilitate responsible gambling. Eye-tracking was used as an objective measure of attention to the message. A 2 (message theme: social, financial) x 2 (threat level: low, high) mixed-model ANOVA was used to examine the evaluations and efficacy of the messages. The main effects of message theme/threat level were not significant. The 2 × 2 interaction for the outcome of overall effectiveness was significant, whereby the high-threat and social message combination was rated more effective than other combinations. For eye-tracking, there were no significant findings. The results suggest that fear-based social messaging may be more effective than non-fear inducing or financially-oriented messages. Further research can explore if messages that are perceived to be effective likewise lead to lower-risk gambling.

Funding

Category 2 - Other Public Sector Grants Category

History

Volume

22

Issue

3

Start Page

480

End Page

498

Number of Pages

19

eISSN

1479-4276

ISSN

1445-9795

Publisher

Taylor & Francis (Routledge)

Language

en

Peer Reviewed

  • Yes

Open Access

  • Yes

Acceptance Date

2022-01-30

Era Eligible

  • Yes

Journal

International Gambling Studies

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