Cognitive dissonance is a psychological phenomenon. It occurs when a person holds contradictory beliefs or acts against their values. In gambling, this concept is very relevant. Many mobile app betting players know that their behavior has negative consequences. Yet, they continue to gamble. This article discusses how cognitive dissonance affects their decisions. It also explores the mechanisms they use to justify their actions.
What is cognitive dissonance?
The theory of cognitive dissonance was proposed by Leon Festinger in 1957. According to this theory, people feel discomfort when they hold contradictory ideas or act against their beliefs. To alleviate this discomfort, they seek to justify or rationalize their behavior, even if it is harmful.
In gambling, a gambler may know that the odds are not in their favor. They know that they have lost a lot of money and that this causes them financial or emotional stress. Yet, instead of stopping gambling, they justify their behavior. You may say things like, “I just need one more win,” or “I can handle it, it’s just a hobby.” This justification is a clear example of cognitive dissonance.
Mobile Gambling: Easy Access, Intense Dissonance
With the rise of smartphones, access to gambling has completely changed. Gambling is no longer limited to physical casinos; it is now within reach of a tap. This ease has increased the number of players and with it, the internal conflict of those who know the risks but continue to gamble.
Cognitive dissonance in mobile gambling is exacerbated by several factors:
Immediacy and convenience: The ability to gamble anywhere removes the barriers that previously helped gamblers stop. Constant access makes it difficult to create distance from the impulse to gamble.
Intermittent rewards: Gambling apps offer small rewards that fuel the belief that it is possible to win more. This reinforces the dissonance, as the player thinks, “If I won once, I can win again,” ignoring the many losses.
Social justification: The popularity of mobile gambling allows players to justify their behaviour. By seeing many others doing it, they perceive the activity as socially accepted, which increases the dissonance between what they know is harmful and what they see as normal.
Justification mechanisms in mobile gambling players
Mobile gambling players, aware of the negative effects of their behaviour, employ several mechanisms to reduce cognitive dissonance and justify their gambling:
Minimising losses: They tend to underestimate the impact of losses or focus on the few times they won, ignoring that they have lost more. In this way, they reduce their internal conflict and continue gambling.
Distorted beliefs about control: Many players falsely believe that they can control the outcome of games. This bias makes them think that, with skill or strategy, they can change their luck, ignoring that most games are completely random.
Social comparisons: They compare themselves to others who have lost more or have more serious gambling problems. This allows them to feel less guilty and perceive their behaviour as less problematic.
Hope of “winning back” what they lost: They believe a big win is near. This irrational hope fuels dissonance, as they justify continuing to gamble with the idea that they will win back what they lost, despite the low odds.
Conscious decisions
Cognitive dissonance is key in mobile gambling players’ decisions. Even though they know the risks and negative consequences, they use psychological mechanisms to justify their behavior. Understanding this process is vital to creating addiction prevention and treatment strategies. This can help players break the cycle of justification and make healthier decisions.