American Indians and non-Indians playing a slot-machine simulation: effects of sensation seeking and payback percentage.

The research literature on gambling behavior indicates that American Indians (AIs) suffer from pathological gambling at a greater rate than the majority population. The literature also suggests that dispositional factors, such as sensation seeking, can influence gambling. However, situational factors, such as the payback percentage of a slot machine, may not. The present study recruited 12 AI and 12 non-AI participants to play a simulated slot machine in three different sessions. Half of the participants in each group were high sensation seekers. The other half were low sensation seekers. Across the three gambling sessions, the simulation was programmed to pay back at a rate of 85, 95, or 105%. Results showed non-significant differences in gambling behavior between AIs and non-AIs and between high and low sensation seekers. Participants were, however, sensitive to percentage payback, playing more trials and betting more credits when the percentage was 105% than when it was 85 or 95%. The present results question whether ethnicity or certain personality characteristics, in and of themselves, are predictive of differences in individuals' gambling behavior. Results also suggest that people's gambling behavior is sensitive to winning and losing, but not to losing and losing even more. Implications for the study of gambling are discussed.