He recruited gamblers by asking for volunteers who like to gamble more than once a week. Students were characterized as pathological gamblers (an impulse-control disorder), problem gamblers (people with signs of heightened risk) and non-problem gamblers.

In his preliminary studies, Goodie found that all three groups bet equally as often, and with similar levels of accuracy. But problem and pathological gamblers’ losses mounted quickly because both groups exhibited higher levels of over- confidence, which set up worse odds. Both groups also accepted bets more often. “They process information, [manifest] confidence, and [perceive] control differently from non-problem gamblers,” Goodie wrote in a paper he expects to publish in the Journal of Gambling Studies.

While the UGA Research Foundation has funded his recent decision research, last July Goodie received a $442,000 grant from the National Institute of Mental Health to continue the gambling studies. Instead of points, volunteers in this round of experiments can win cash, up to $20. People who gamble for money rather than points may make decisions differently, said Goodie, who began his latest research segment last August with college students. Eventually, he plans to cast a wider net that will include people of different ages and backgrounds.

“Pathological gambling is a huge problem with addictive properties,” he said. “It would be nice if we could use this research to help pathological gamblers see that they are not really in control of the things they are betting on.”

For more information, contact Adam Goodie at goodie@uga.edu or Keith Campbell at wkc@uga.edu or access http://www.uga.edu/psychology/faculty/agoodie.html

Judy Purdy is director of the UGA Research Communications Office and editor of UGA Research Magazine.