72 - Matthew Browne - Why People Gamble

For more on Matt’s work on gambling see: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Matthew_Browne You can find his podcast with Chris Kavanaugh, “Decoding the Gurus” here and on most reputable podcast apps: https://decoding-the-gurus.captivate.fm Follow Matt on Twitter @arthurcdent Further References Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, Flow (1990) George Eliot, Middlemarch: A Study of Provincial Life (1871–72); Daniel Deronda (1876) Stuart J. Ritchie, Science Fictions: Exposing Fraud, Bias, Negligence and Hype in Science (2020) Johann Hari, Lost Connections: Uncovering the Real Causes of Depression—and the Unexpected Solutions (2018) Timestamps 3:25 How Matt became interested in this topic; how gambling differs from other forms of risktaking 11:32 Dark flow states 19:38 Evolved psychology and low-effort activities 21:25 Skinner, behaviourism and superstition in humans and pigeons 24:48 Changes to the ease and addictiveness of gambling over time 25:58 Passages describing gambling in George Eliot’s Deronda and Middlemarch 29:34 Young men and gambling 31:08 How technology enables problem gambling 38:08 Responses from the industry to Matt’s work 46:24 When gambling isn’t a problem 47:40 What drives problem gaming behaviours? 54:19 Societal measures that could reduce problem gambling