Do pupillary responses during authentic slot machine use reflect arousal or screen luminance fluctuations? A proof-of-concept study.
Modern slot machines are among the more harmful forms of gambling. Psychophysiological measures may provide a window into mental processes that underpin these harms. Here we investigated pupil dilation derived from eye tracking as a means of capturing changes in sympathetic nervous system arousal fo...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Public Library of Science (PLoS)
2022-01-01
|
| Series: | PLoS ONE |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0272070 |
| _version_ | 1811222083627122688 |
|---|---|
| author | Andy J Kim W Spencer Murch Eve H Limbrick-Oldfield Mario A Ferrari Kent I MacDonald Jolande Fooken Mariya V Cherkasova Miriam Spering Luke Clark |
| author_facet | Andy J Kim W Spencer Murch Eve H Limbrick-Oldfield Mario A Ferrari Kent I MacDonald Jolande Fooken Mariya V Cherkasova Miriam Spering Luke Clark |
| author_sort | Andy J Kim |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Modern slot machines are among the more harmful forms of gambling. Psychophysiological measures may provide a window into mental processes that underpin these harms. Here we investigated pupil dilation derived from eye tracking as a means of capturing changes in sympathetic nervous system arousal following outcomes on a real slot machine. We hypothesized that positively reinforcing slot machine outcomes would be associated with increases in arousal, reflected in larger pupil diameter. We further examined the contribution of game luminance fluctuations on pupil diameter. In Experiment 1A, experienced slot machine gamblers (N = 53) played a commercially-available slot machine in a laboratory for 20 minutes while wearing mobile eye tracking glasses. Analyses differentiated loss outcomes, wins, losses-disguised-as-wins, and (free-spin) bonus features. Bonus features were associated with rapid increases in pupil diameter following the onset of outcome-related audiovisual feedback, relative to losses. In Experiment 1B, luminance data were extracted from captured screen videos (derived from Experiment 1A) to characterize on-screen luminance changes that could modulate pupil diameter. Bonus features and wins were associated with pronounced and complex fluctuations in screen luminance (≈50 L and ≈25L, respectively). However, the pupil dilation that was observed to bonus features in Experiment 1A coincided temporally with only negligible changes in screen luminance, providing partial evidence that the pupil dilation to bonus features may be due to arousal. In Experiment 2, 12 participants viewed pairs of stimuli (scrambled slot machine images) at luminance difference thresholds of ≈25L, ≈50L, and ≈100L. Scrambled images presented at luminance differences of ≈25L and greater were sufficient to cause pupillary responses. Overall, pupillometry may detect event-related changes in sympathetic nervous system arousal following gambling outcomes, but researchers must pay careful attention to substantial in-game luminance changes that may confound arousal-based interpretations. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-12T08:10:34Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-c9782a48787f4f399152f7f2a4b6e749 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1932-6203 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-12T08:10:34Z |
| publishDate | 2022-01-01 |
| publisher | Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PLoS ONE |
| spelling | doaj.art-c9782a48787f4f399152f7f2a4b6e7492022-12-22T03:41:00ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032022-01-01177e027207010.1371/journal.pone.0272070Do pupillary responses during authentic slot machine use reflect arousal or screen luminance fluctuations? A proof-of-concept study.Andy J KimW Spencer MurchEve H Limbrick-OldfieldMario A FerrariKent I MacDonaldJolande FookenMariya V CherkasovaMiriam SperingLuke ClarkModern slot machines are among the more harmful forms of gambling. Psychophysiological measures may provide a window into mental processes that underpin these harms. Here we investigated pupil dilation derived from eye tracking as a means of capturing changes in sympathetic nervous system arousal following outcomes on a real slot machine. We hypothesized that positively reinforcing slot machine outcomes would be associated with increases in arousal, reflected in larger pupil diameter. We further examined the contribution of game luminance fluctuations on pupil diameter. In Experiment 1A, experienced slot machine gamblers (N = 53) played a commercially-available slot machine in a laboratory for 20 minutes while wearing mobile eye tracking glasses. Analyses differentiated loss outcomes, wins, losses-disguised-as-wins, and (free-spin) bonus features. Bonus features were associated with rapid increases in pupil diameter following the onset of outcome-related audiovisual feedback, relative to losses. In Experiment 1B, luminance data were extracted from captured screen videos (derived from Experiment 1A) to characterize on-screen luminance changes that could modulate pupil diameter. Bonus features and wins were associated with pronounced and complex fluctuations in screen luminance (≈50 L and ≈25L, respectively). However, the pupil dilation that was observed to bonus features in Experiment 1A coincided temporally with only negligible changes in screen luminance, providing partial evidence that the pupil dilation to bonus features may be due to arousal. In Experiment 2, 12 participants viewed pairs of stimuli (scrambled slot machine images) at luminance difference thresholds of ≈25L, ≈50L, and ≈100L. Scrambled images presented at luminance differences of ≈25L and greater were sufficient to cause pupillary responses. Overall, pupillometry may detect event-related changes in sympathetic nervous system arousal following gambling outcomes, but researchers must pay careful attention to substantial in-game luminance changes that may confound arousal-based interpretations.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0272070 |
| spellingShingle | Andy J Kim W Spencer Murch Eve H Limbrick-Oldfield Mario A Ferrari Kent I MacDonald Jolande Fooken Mariya V Cherkasova Miriam Spering Luke Clark Do pupillary responses during authentic slot machine use reflect arousal or screen luminance fluctuations? A proof-of-concept study. PLoS ONE |
| title | Do pupillary responses during authentic slot machine use reflect arousal or screen luminance fluctuations? A proof-of-concept study. |
| title_full | Do pupillary responses during authentic slot machine use reflect arousal or screen luminance fluctuations? A proof-of-concept study. |
| title_fullStr | Do pupillary responses during authentic slot machine use reflect arousal or screen luminance fluctuations? A proof-of-concept study. |
| title_full_unstemmed | Do pupillary responses during authentic slot machine use reflect arousal or screen luminance fluctuations? A proof-of-concept study. |
| title_short | Do pupillary responses during authentic slot machine use reflect arousal or screen luminance fluctuations? A proof-of-concept study. |
| title_sort | do pupillary responses during authentic slot machine use reflect arousal or screen luminance fluctuations a proof of concept study |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0272070 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT andyjkim dopupillaryresponsesduringauthenticslotmachineusereflectarousalorscreenluminancefluctuationsaproofofconceptstudy AT wspencermurch dopupillaryresponsesduringauthenticslotmachineusereflectarousalorscreenluminancefluctuationsaproofofconceptstudy AT evehlimbrickoldfield dopupillaryresponsesduringauthenticslotmachineusereflectarousalorscreenluminancefluctuationsaproofofconceptstudy AT marioaferrari dopupillaryresponsesduringauthenticslotmachineusereflectarousalorscreenluminancefluctuationsaproofofconceptstudy AT kentimacdonald dopupillaryresponsesduringauthenticslotmachineusereflectarousalorscreenluminancefluctuationsaproofofconceptstudy AT jolandefooken dopupillaryresponsesduringauthenticslotmachineusereflectarousalorscreenluminancefluctuationsaproofofconceptstudy AT mariyavcherkasova dopupillaryresponsesduringauthenticslotmachineusereflectarousalorscreenluminancefluctuationsaproofofconceptstudy AT miriamspering dopupillaryresponsesduringauthenticslotmachineusereflectarousalorscreenluminancefluctuationsaproofofconceptstudy AT lukeclark dopupillaryresponsesduringauthenticslotmachineusereflectarousalorscreenluminancefluctuationsaproofofconceptstudy |