Cognitive Distortions as a Component and Treatment Focus of Pathological Gambling: A Review

The literature on the role of cognitive distortions in the understanding and treatment of pathological gambling (PG) is reviewed, with sections focusing on (a) conceptual underpinnings of cognitive distortions, (b) cognitive distortions related to PG, (c) PG therapies that target cognitive distortio...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Psychology of addictive behaviors 2012-06, Vol.26 (2), p.298-310
Main Authors: Fortune, Erica E, Goodie, Adam S
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult and adolescent clinical studies
Availability heuristic
Biological and medical sciences
Cognition
Cognition Disorders - psychology
Cognition Disorders - therapy
Cognitive Behavior Therapy
Cognitive Bias
Cognitive impairment
Cognitive Therapy - methods
Decision Making - physiology
Distortion
Female
Gambling - psychology
Gambling - therapy
Gambling Disorder
Heuristics
Human
Humans
Illusions
Internal-External Control
Judgment - physiology
Male
Medical sciences
Miscellaneous
Pathological gambling
Psychological Theory
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychopathology. Psychiatry
Treatment Outcome
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Summary:The literature on the role of cognitive distortions in the understanding and treatment of pathological gambling (PG) is reviewed, with sections focusing on (a) conceptual underpinnings of cognitive distortions, (b) cognitive distortions related to PG, (c) PG therapies that target cognitive distortions, (d) methodological factors and outcome variations, and (e) conclusions and prescriptive recommendations. The conceptual background for distortions related to PG lies in the program of heuristics and biases (Kahneman & Tversky, 1974) as well as other errors identified in basic psychology. The literature has focused on distortions arising from the representativeness heuristic (gambler's fallacy, overconfidence, and trends in number picking), the availability heuristic (illusory correlation, other individuals' wins, and inherent memory bias), and other sources (the illusion of control and double switching). Some therapies have incorporated cognitive restructuring within broader cognitive-behavioral therapies, with success. Other therapies have focused more narrowly on correcting distorted beliefs, more often with limited success. It is concluded that the literature establishes the role of cognitive distortions in PG and suggests therapies with particularly good promise, but is in need of further enrichment.
ISSN:0893-164X
1939-1501
DOI:10.1037/a0026422