How might frequent gamblers convince themselves to keep playing despite persistent losses or after a win that should be savored? The purpose of this research is to examine the unexplored question of how frequent gamblers’ use counterfactual thinking to motivate their desire to continue gambling. Using a sample of n = 69 high and n = 69 low frequency gamblers in a field setting, we found that infrequent gamblers tended to consider how the perceived outcome of losing “could have been better” (i.e., upward counterfactual thinking), and how a winning outcome “could have been worse” (i.e., downward counterfactual thinking). This pattern of counterfactual thinking is considered typical in many settings and may, in a gambling context, support a potentially more responsible approach by helping infrequent gamblers to learn from past mistakes to avoid significant future losses and to savor wins to protect returns gained. Alternatively, we found that frequent gamblers were more likely to generate ‘dual counterfactuals’ which include both upward and downward counterfactuals in response to losses and wins. We argue that this dual pattern of counterfactual thinking may allow frequent gamblers to more easily justify their desire to continue gambling. Findings suggest that challenging gamblers counterfactual thinking patterns could assist clinicians in moderating the potential for high-risk behaviors.

经常赌博的人如何说服自己在持续输钱或赢得值得品尝的胜利后继续赌博？这项研究的目的是探讨一个尚未探索的问题，即赌徒使用反事实思维来激发他们继续赌博的欲望的频率如何。在现场环境中使用 n = 69 名高频率赌徒和 n = 69 名低频率赌徒的样本，我们发现不频繁赌徒倾向于考虑输钱的感知结果“本来可以更好”（即向上反事实思维），以及如何获胜的结果“可能会更糟”（即向下的反事实思维）。这种反事实思维模式在许多情况下被认为是典型的，并且在赌博环境中可能支持一种潜在的更负责任的方法，帮助不常赌的人从过去的错误中吸取教训，以避免未来重大损失，并享受胜利以保护所获得的回报。另外，我们发现经常赌博的人更有可能产生“双重反事实”，其中包括针对输赢的向上和向下反事实。我们认为，这种反事实思维的双重模式可能会让经常赌徒更容易证明他们继续赌博的愿望是合理的。研究结果表明，挑战赌徒的反事实思维模式可以帮助临床医生减轻高风险行为的可能性。