Understanding the mathematical probability of winning at gambling does not appear to change gambling behavior in college students, according to research published in the scientific journal Psychology of Addictive Behaviors.
The study took place during college lecture courses on statistics and probability at the University of Lethbridge. It was conducted by Robert J. Williams and Dennis Connolly.
In one of these classes, the professor taught the normal statistics curriculum, which did not cover gambling. In another class, the professor taught the normal curriculum in addition to specifically covering probabilities associated with gambling and devoted a lecture to “gambling fallacies.”
The students from both the classes that covered gambling and those that did not were asked to complete a questionnaire each lecture to assess their knowledge about gambling, awareness of gambling fallacies, attitude toward gambling, their gambling behavior over the last six months, and problematic gambling. This questionnaire was also given to students six months after the classes had ended.
“The presumption was that if students thoroughly understood and experienced the negative mathematical expectations of gambling games, they would gamble less,” say Williams and Connolly.
Unfortunately, this was not the case. Students that received information about the mathematical probabilities associated with gambling and the incredibly low odds of winning did not show any change in their attitudes or behaviors related to gambling.
“In retrospect, it may be the case that teaching gamblers about gambling odds is analogous to telling smokers about the harmful effects of smoking or alcoholics about the harmful effects of drinking.”
Reference:
Williams, R.J. & Connolly, D. (2006). Does learning about the mathematics of gambling change gambling behavior? Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, Vol 20, No 1: 62-68.