Do Gambling Related Stimuli Lead to Intrusive Cognitions?

Studies have demonstrated that gambling stimuli can trigger attentional biases to pathological gamblers. However, with the continuous increase of exposure to gambling stimuli it is important to investigate the effect of gambling stimuli on the general population. The present research investigated whether gambling stimuli can lead to intrusive cognitions that could affect time perception, gambling decisions and could elicit craving to gamble. In study 1, using a gambling Stroop test as a prime, we showed that intrusive cognitions can affect gambling decisions and elicit desire to gamble. In study 2, using a time bisection task without any primes we did not find any such effects. In study 3, individuals had to perform the time bisection task twice with a priming task between attempts. Findings suggest that there were no intrusive cognitions as a result of a gambling related prime. There was however an overall effect of priming on time perception suggesting that mind-set could affect time perception. Future research paths are also suggested.