Do pupillary responses during authentic slot machine use reflect arousal or screen luminance fluctuations? A proof-of-concept study.

ABSTRACT: Modern slot machines are among the more harmful forms of gambling. Psychophysiological measures may provide a window into mental processes that underpin these harms. Here we investigated pupil dilation derived from eye tracking as a means of capturing changes in sympathetic nervous system arousal following outcomes on a real slot machine. We hypothesized that positively reinforcing slot machine outcomes would be associated with increases in arousal, reflected in larger pupil diameter. We further examined the contribution of game luminance fluctuations on pupil diameter. In Experiment 1A, experienced slot machine gamblers (N = 53) played a commercially-available slot machine in a laboratory for 20 minutes while wearing mobile eye tracking glasses. Analyses differentiated loss outcomes, wins

SUBMITTER: Kim AJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9312385 | biostudies-literature | 2022

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature