Czech gamblers´ view on luck [poster]

DLHOŠOVÁ, Terézia and Radek KUNDT. Czech gamblers´ view on luck [poster]. In 23rd International Symposium about Current Issues and Controversies in Psychiatry, Barcelona, 28.-30.4.2016. 2016.

Basic information

• Original name: Czech gamblers´ view on luck [poster]
• Name in Czech: Pohled gamblerů na štěstí
• Authors: DLHOŠOVÁ, Terézia and Radek KUNDT.
• Edition: 23rd International Symposium about Current Issues and Controversies in Psychiatry, Barcelona, 28.-30.4.2016, 2016.

Other information

• Original language: English
• Type of outcome: Presentations at conferences
• Field of Study: 50100 5.1 Psychology and cognitive sciences
• Country of publisher: Spain
• Confidentiality degree: is not subject to a state or trade secret
• Organization unit: Faculty of Arts
• Keywords (in Czech): přisuzování atribucí, gambling, štěstí, víry, nekontrolovatelné události
• Keywords in English: attributional reasoning, gambling, luck, nonmaterial beliefs, uncontrollable events
• Tags: International impact, Reviewed

Abstract

Objectives: Some studies have found belief in luck to be an important factor in maintaining the illusion of control and therefore gambling behaviour in general. The concept of luck is not easy to define and its understanding can differ between cultures. We are interested in Czech gamblers’ understanding of luck and whether the belief in luck influences attribution of causes to uncontrollable events in general, not only in the game situation. Methods: We asked 20 Czech gamblers what they believe luck is and whether it is possible to influence it. We also asked them to decide why 14 stories of uncontrollable events ended the way they did. Results In a qualitative analysis of open-ended questions using we found luck to be perceived as an opportunity to fulfil life values (e.g.be healthy). Almost all participant explicitly diminished the influence of luck and emphasised the influence of chance. In spite of this, half of the participants claimed it is possible to influence luck by means of a special ritual or thoughts. Participants tended to explain lucky chances by destiny. Actually destiny was the second most used concept in explaining the causes of uncontrollable events (43% chance, 27% destiny, 23% luck). Conclusion: There was a large inconsistency between what participants explicitly claimed to believe and how they actually reasoned about the causes of events. We explain this finding as the need of participants to maintain a distance from their luck associated gambling problem reasoning in the moment of their hospitalization. The connection between the concepts of luck and destiny is another interesting point not mentioned in previous studies. These findings are preliminary and further studies are needed.