Examining the roles of rule following, reinforcement, and preexperimental histories on risk-taking behavior

The purpose of the present study was to examine the participation of a vari ety of variables in gambling behavior. Forty five subjects were exposed to an experimental roulette game played for course extra-credit points. In Pha se 1, subjects played a fair game (i.e., completely random outcomes) withou t any instructions regarding the programmed contingencies for 75 trials. Du ring Phase 2, subjects were exposed to an adjusted game with payback percen tages of either p = .2, p = .8, or continued at p = fair and instructions r elated to play. Lastly, during Phase 3 all subjects were exposed to an adju sted game with a payback percentage of .2 and an option for escape. Results show that subjects exposed to inaccurate rules regarding play took higher levels of risk, made larger bets, and chose the escape option later than su bjects exposed to accurate or no rules related to play. Although reinforcem ent density varied across subjects exposed to the same rule condition, ther e was no significant effect of that manipulation on subsequent gambles.