Abstract
The relationship between gambling behavior and emotions has been demonstrated in several studies. Some studies have indicated that positive emotions have an influence on reckless gambling. However, according to the Core Affect Theory of Russell and Feldman-Barrett, the emotional state is constructed of two dimensions: Pleasure–Displeasure, and Arousal–Sleepiness. In this study, the effects of gambling-irrelevant arousal without positive emotions were experimentally investigated in healthy undergraduates and graduate students. Participants (18 men and 16 women) performed a Game of Dice Task (GDT) that consisted of 18 gambling trials. Before executing GDT, participants in the experimental group performed step exercises for approximately two minutes in order to elicit arousal unrelated to the GDT, whereas those in the control group did nothing while waiting for two minutes before executing GDT. Result indicated that the experimental group became less recklessly when conducting the GDT, in comparison to the control group. This result suggests that gambling-irrelevant arousal without positive emotions might not promote, but rather inhibit, reckless gambling behavior.
