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Recall of electronic gaming machine signs: A static versus a dynamic mode of
presentation Sally Monaghan & Alex Blaszczynski, School of
Psychology,
University
of
Sydney,
Abstract This study
compared differences in rates of free and cued recall for messages displayed on
electronic gaming machines (EGMs) delivered in one of two display modes:
static or dynamic. Rates of recall were investigated in a laboratory setting
using 92 university students (75.0% female) with a mean age of 19.3 years (SD = 2.4 years). The static mode
consisted of a fixed government-mandated message placed on the frame of an
EGM directly next to the gaming buttons. In the dynamic mode, an identical
message was presented in the form of a translucent display scrolling across
the screen during play. Results
showed that significantly more of the information presented in dynamic mode
was recalled, and with greater accuracy, in both free recall and cued recall
conditions compared with static government-mandated messages. It was
concluded that the method of displaying signs influences awareness and recall
of harm minimization messages. Keywords: electronic gaming machines, gambling,
responsible gaming signage, cued recall, free recall
Introduction
In response to the major public health issue of problem gambling, governments have introduced a range of responsible gambling strategies and harm minimization interventions (Korn & Shaffer, 1999; National Research Council, 1999; Productivity Commission, 1999). Extending the findings and the framework offered by various health and behavioural decision-making theoretical models (Ajzen & Fishbein, 1980; Fishbein & Ajzen, 1975; Janz & Becker, 1984; Ladouceur & Walker, 1996 Langer, 1983; Prochaska & DiClemente, 1982, 1983; Rosenstock, Strecher, & Becker, 1988), regulatory agencies and the gaming industry have focused heavily on initiatives designed to educate and promote informed choice among players (Blaszczynski, Ladouceur, Nower, & Shaffer, 2005). These initiatives include the provision of signs, messages, brochures, and booklets within venues describing the potential risks associated with gambling, odds and probabilities of winning, and resources available for access in response to problems that emerge, as well as the incorporation of course segments on gambling or probabilities in school curricula.
The principle
underlying this focus is derived from the argument that the ultimate decision
on whether or not to commence or continue to gamble remains with the individual
and represents a choice, but that to properly make such an informed choice
requires sufficient, necessary, and timely information (Blaszczynski,
Ladouceur, & Shaffer, 2004). This position is consistent with trade
practice legislation and forms the foundation for public health campaigns
relevant to other consumer products: food, tobacco, alcohol, and medications.
From a
cognitive behavioural etiological model of problem gambling, irrational
beliefs, erroneous perceptions, and misunderstood concepts of randomness and
the mutual independence of chance events contribute to illusions of control,
illusory correlations, illusions of predictability, and biased evaluations
that cause gamblers to overestimate chances of winning and ultimately to
foster persistence in continued gambling behaviour (Ladouceur & Walker,
1996; Langer, 1983; Myers, 2002; Walker, 1992).
As
empirically demonstrated by clinical (Echeburua, Baez, & Fernandez-Montalvo,
1996; Ladouceur, Sylvain,
Boutin, & Doucet, 2002; Sylvain, Ladouceur, &
Boisvert, 1997) and laboratory studies (Dixon, 2000), information leading to
the correction of cognitive errors is effective in improving the accuracy of
estimates of winning and reducing excessive gambling behaviours, although the
true functional relationship between cognitive changes and gambling
behavioural outcomes remains to be established.
Electronic gaming machines (EGMs) is a term applied to any form of gambling offered via terminal screens and typically includes slot machines or its variants (video lottery terminals, poker machines, and fruit machines), keno, video draw-poker and blackjack, and electronic roulette. These forms of gambling in aggregate account for the largest proportion of gambling revenue and are the primary form of activity reported by treatment-seeking problem gamblers (Productivity Commission, 1999). Accordingly, government agencies and industry operators have acted to introduce primary and secondary information campaigns specifically targeting EGMs. One important initiative relates to the requirement to display "responsible gaming" messages on, or in close proximity to, EGMs that describe probabilities of winning major prizes, as well as to display warnings of the potential addictiveness and harm risk that gambling may produce (Australian Gaming Council, 2001; NSW Gaming Machines Regulation Act, 2002; Schrans, Schellinck, & Grace, 2004). The provision of such signs should improve knowledge and accurate estimates of the probability of winning and, through the facilitation of awareness and informed choice, subsequently modify gambling behaviour.
Studies show
that individuals are aware of, and recall messages currently displayed on,
EGMs in venue settings (Hing, 2003, 2004). In a survey designed to assess
member awareness, perceived adequacy, and perceived effectiveness of
responsible gambling strategies in
Steenbergh,
Whelan, Meyers, May, and Floyd (2004) investigated the impact of warning and
brief intervention messages on knowledge of gambling risk, irrational
beliefs, and behaviour by comparing control subjects with those who received
a brief audio-visual message prior to a session of play explaining the odds
of winning roulette and the risks associated with gaming. These authors found
that audio-visual messages increased participants' ability to nominate the
correct response from a selection of possible answers regarding odds and
risks associated with gambling when questioned immediately after play, but
did not produce significant cognitive or behavioural changes. Although this
study provides some support for using informative messages targeting
incorrect beliefs to correct erroneous perceptions, thereby reducing the
initiation of further gaming sessions and prolonged play, further empirical
studies are necessary.
Accordingly, there is a need to determine the optimal mode of delivery of text messages in gambling research. There are a number of options available with respect to gaming machines: placement of static messages on machines, "pop-up" dialogue boxes, or translucent messages that scroll across the screen. Research on the effective design for warning labels has yielded some empirically based guidelines. For example, to have any impact, messages must attract attention, be resistant to the effects of habituation, be relevant to the targeted activity, and be comprehendible (Malouff, Schutte, Wiener, Brancazio, & Fish, 1993; Stewart & Martin, 1994). Dynamic as opposed to static messages appear to meet these requirements. Dynamic messages are capable of attracting attention in the presence of competing visual stimuli (Johnston & Dark, 1990), interrupting attention to primary tasks (gambling) by captivating attentional focus to the sign, and affecting performance on the primary task over a longer duration; in addition, dynamic messages have a longer lasting effect on cognitions (Bailey, Konstan, & Carlis, 2001). Motion cues appear to outperform static representations with regard to speed and accuracy of responses to displays in a screen's periphery (Bartram, Ware, & Calvert, 2001), and studies have demonstrated that signs placed in central locations where they attract attention increased recall and distracted consumers from processing surrounding product information (Clark & Brock, 1994; Laughery, Young, Vaubel, & Brelsford, 1993). Additionally, attentional shifts can be enhanced through the use of several techniques, including large, bold print; high contrast; colour; borders; and special effects such as flashing lights (Wogalter, Conzola, & Smith-Jackson, 2002). A vital element
of informational displays is comprehension, which is being able to remember
and understand information that is conveyed. Comprehension in a multi-line
paragraph format was found to be not significantly different from rapid
serial presentations of constantly changing textual displays (Juola, Ward,
& McNamara, 1982). Additionally, secondary animated displays in a
dual-task situation did not significantly interrupt users from a primary task
but still effectively communicated information (McCrickard, Catrambone,
Chewar, & Stasko, 2003). To be an effective harm-minimization strategy,
allowing informed choice in gambling-related decisions, signage must
communicate information to the player. However, as harm-minimization
strategies aim to reduce possible harm caused to the individual and the
community by problem gambling without reducing recreational gambling, a
dynamic display allowing comprehension without disturbing play achieves this
goal.
The aim of
the current study was to investigate the differential extent to which
gamblers recall informative and dynamic signs as compared with
government-mandated messages on EGMs. The specific objective was to determine
the extent to which gamblers can recall information freely and in response to
prompted cues and to determine whether modifying the mode of delivery of
information contained in signs leads to improved recall.
The following hypotheses were tested: 1. Dynamic translucent scrolling as compared with static messages during play will result in greater free and cued recall of information contained in the message. 2. Exposure to dynamic messages will be associated with greater accuracy of recall. MethodParticipants
Participants
were 100 undergraduate psychology
students from the
The
Procedure
Two Mk VI Series 2 EGMs provided by Aristocrat Leisure Industries were used in the study. The NSW Liquor Administration Board (LAB) approved the use of these EGMs for research purposes under section 8(2) (b) of the NSW Gaming Machines Regulation Act (2002). The EGMs were standard configuration machines with graphic designs displaying payout schedules. One machine displayed a static message and the other machine displayed a modified sign according to the experimental conditions described below. The procedure took place in a laboratory setting within the Department of Psychology. Participants were randomly allocated to one of the two following conditions: 1. Static standard message (n = 45): Standard unmodified static sign containing information on the chance of winning in the text, the size of wording mandated by the NSW Gaming Machines Regulation Act of 2002, section 21: "Your chance of winning the maximum prize on a gaming machine is generally no better than one in a million." The message was printed on a sticker fixed to the left of the screen, written in bold black font on a white background containing a red BetSafe logo, as displayed in Figure 1. 2.
Dynamic
standard message (n = 47): A translucent display designed to scroll across the middle
of the screen from right to left at intervals of 3 min that included the same
information and wording as the standard static sign. The design of the
display was based on empirically established guidelines for effective warning
messages and was not intended to replicate the mandated message, but rather
to enhance the capacity of the sign to attract attention and facilitate
comprehension. The message, as shown in Figure 2, appeared in a
white-bordered box, which took up approximately 7% of the total area of the
screen, in bold yellow letters on a translucent grey background in the middle
of the screen. It took 15 s to scroll across the screen, allowing normal play
to continue throughout its progression across the screen.
Participants were requested to play an EGM for a session lasting
10 min. Machines were preloaded with credit points, given that money was not
to be used under the condition of approval prohibiting the use of machines
for purposes of gaming imposed by the LAB.
Condition 1: Free recall of information Participants were requested to freely recall and record all information that they remembered was displayed on EGM screens and machines during the session of play and were given 2 min to record their responses on a blank piece of paper. No prompts or hints were given related to what information was to be recalled. Responses received a score of 2 if participants recorded responses that indicated full awareness of the content, judged as responses replicating the exact wording of the message; 1 for partial information, judged as responses indicating correct knowledge of the content of the message without replicating the exact wording; and 0 for no or erroneous information. Figure 1. Location and size of static
sign on standard electronic gaming machine as used in study. Condition 2: Cued recall of information Participants were then asked to complete a memory and awareness task in a questionnaire format designed to specifically target the harm-minimization message displayed on the EGM and to assess the extent to which that information was recalled by participants. Participants were cued by a question asking if they recalled a sign relating to outcomes of play or chances of winning and indicated yes or no before being asked to write down the exact content of the message. This step allowed a measure of claimed recall as compared with accuracy of recall. Similar to the free recall condition, participants were allocated a score of 0 for no or erroneous information recognized, 1 for partial recognition, and 2 for accurate recognition of information. Participants were also asked to indicate on a 0-to-100 scale their level of confidence in remembering accurately the information displayed in the messages. Figure 2. Dynamic message scrolling from right to left on standard electronic gaming machine as used in the study. Statistical analyses The dependent variables were free and cued recall, accuracy, and confidence of recall of message content. The independent variable manipulated between subjects was the mode of presentation. Independent sample t tests were used to determine significant differences between groups. To test the hypotheses that dynamic messages scrolled across the screen during play would result in greater recall of messages than would static messages, the mean scores for free and cued recall and accuracy of recall for the dynamic condition were compared with mean scores for these variables in the static condition, using independent sample t tests.
Results Display mode and recall As shown graphically
in Figure 3, the dynamic mode of delivery resulted in significantly more of
the messages being recalled under conditions of free, cued, and estimated
confidence of accuracy as compared with static message displays. Participants in the dynamic condition were able to freely recall messages to a significantly greater extent (M = 1.66, SD = 0.76) compared with those exposed to the static condition (M = 0.31, SD = 0.73; t(90) = -8.66, p = 0.01). The proportion of participants who freely recalled the dynamic message was 83.0% (n = 47), compared with 15.6% (n = 45) of those who saw the static message. Figure 3. Mean score for free recall, cued recall,
and accuracy of cued recall for n = 92 undergraduate psychology students,
under conditions of static and dynamic modes of message displays on
electronic gaming machines. Cued recall
associated with the dynamic condition (M
= 1.79, SD = 0.55) was also
significantly greater than that found under the static condition (M = 0.62, SD = 0.86; t(90) =
-7.78, p = 0.01), with 85.1% (n = 47) of participants in the dynamic
condition recalling messages compared with 24.4% (n = 45) of those in the static condition. Information
was recalled significantly more accurately when presented in dynamic (M=1.06, SD=0.53) as compared with static mode (M = 0.40, SD = 0.65, t(90) = -5.37, p = 0.01). Participants demonstrated significantly greater confidence in their recollection of the message content for the dynamic (M = 75.78, SD = 29.34) compared with static modes (M = 26.80, SD = 33.53, t(90) = -7.46, p = 0.001). Effects of previous gaming experience on recall A chi-square analysis failed to detect any significant differences
in the distribution of experienced and inexperienced players between groups,
suggesting that differences in results were not caused by pre-existing
differences in player experience. An analysis of data revealed that all
differences in recall scores for inexperienced and experienced players were
non-significant. Effect of gender on recall A chi-square analysis failed to reveal a significant difference in the distribution of gender across conditions. Furthermore, there were no significant differences in recall scores for males and females.
Discussion Consistent
with the hypothesis proposed, the results of the present study indicate that
significantly greater free and cued recall and accuracy of cued recall, as
well as confidence in cued recall, is associated with dynamic modes of
presentation, in contrast with static displays of messages. Dynamic displays
appear to attract and absorb the attention of players in the presence of
multiple sources of competing audio and visual stimuli more effectively than
static signs, as shown by players' capacity to accurately and confidently
recall the information, and therefore represent a more effective mode through
which information influencing rates of EGM play may be presented to players.
Rates of free and cued recall tasks, as well as increased accuracy of and
confidence in recall, following play with dynamic modes imply that this
method has significant advantages in capturing and retaining attention, as
well as in efficiently communicating information to players, which results in
greater comprehension.
The
responsible gaming messages and mode of delivery used in this study conform
with the Productivity Commission (1999) recommendations on the need to
provide accurate and easily accessible information to players and is designed
to increase knowledge and awareness of risks and probabilities associated
with gaming. The low mean recall scores for static messages indicate that
this mode of delivery fails to generate any strong awareness of information
contained in displayed messages. However, it
is important to bear in mind that responsible gaming messages, as in other
public health initiatives, including smoking and alcohol consumption (Krugman,
Fox, Fletcher, & Rojas, 1994; Parker, Saltz, & Hennessy, 1994), may
not effectively modify actual gambling-related cognitions or behaviours.
Disconcertingly, for all conditions, the average accuracy of cued recall was
relatively low despite participant's positive response indicating cued
recall, suggesting that although participants become aware of the content of
messages to some extent, not all relevant information is retained. Compared with
the rate reported by Hing (2003, 2004) for awareness of signs displayed in
club venues in Conclusions
drawn from this study are limited by several methodological difficulties.
Pursuant to section 8(2) (b) of the NSW Gambling Machines Regulation Act
(2002), approval for use for research purposes prohibited players from using
their own money to play. Although considered not to have had a major effect
on attention and recall of information, the use of money may have affected
cognitions and style of play. Participants were not using their own money and
therefore unconcerned about losses and unmotivated to play in a rational
manner. This attitude may have resulted in information contained in signs to
be ignored or considered irrelevant. Furthermore,
although subjects chose to participate in this study, their goal was to gain
credit for their psychology course and consequently they may not have been
interested in attending to perceived ancillary aspects of the study's
environment. This possibility would have the effect of causing participants
to not pay attention during play or place efforts on the recall of
information. However, the majority of participants gave positive feedback and
indicated they enjoyed the experience, expressing interest in the research
outcomes, suggesting that disinterest may not have been a great source of
contamination. The use of
laboratory rather than in vivo settings limits the extent of findings and
conclusions drawn, particularly with respect to habituation and long-term
changes in recall. Longitudinal empirical investigation for in vivo settings
with regular gamblers is required to effectively determine the impact of
variable modes of information delivery and retention of information.
Substantially, it is imperative that longitudinal studies are conducted to
determine the link between effective attention to, and retention of,
information presented to players and changes in actual gambling behaviour.
Participants' successes at free and cued recall tasks, as well as increased
accuracy of and confidence in recall following play with dynamic messages,
imply that the sign made significant improvements in capturing and
maintaining attention as well as in efficiently communicating information,
resulting in greater comprehension of the message. These highly significant
findings establish that dynamic displays may provide an effective mechanism
for allowing informed choice in responsible gambling strategies. This study
may inform policy decision makers and key stakeholders, as it established
that dynamic messages increase the extent to which EGM players can recall
information freely and in response to prompted cues compared with
government-mandated static signs. Although future research is needed
regarding the most suitable content of messages, this study highlights the
importance of using a dynamic mode of display to maximize the effectiveness
of responsible gambling messages.
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evaluation. Applied Ergonomics, 33, 219–230. Acknowledgments: We gratefully acknowledge the assistance of John Carr-Gregg and Aristocrat Technologies Australia technical staff for the provision and technical support in modifying electronic gaming machines used in this study; Allen Thomas and Paul De Castro, Aristocrat Technologies Australia, for the installation of the machines; and the New South Wales Government Liquor Administration Board for their support in approving the electronic gaming machines for research use in accordance with section 8(2)(b) of the NSW Gaming Machines Regulation Act (2002). ******* Manuscript history: submitted July 4, 2006;
accepted April 12, 2007. All URLs were available at the time of submission.
This article was peer-reviewed. Contributors: SM collected and analysed the data and wrote up the
findings as part of her honours thesis. AB helped with the development of the
research idea and methodology and reviewed drafts and the final submission. Competing interests: None declared for both authors. Ethics approval: On May 17, 2004, The University of Sydney's
Ethics Committee approved the research project "The Effectiveness of
Government Mandated Information Signs on Poker Machines" (01/03/38). Funding and resources: Aristocrat Leisure Industries supplied the
electronic gaming machines and arranged for the technical modifications necessary,
as well as the installation of the machines. Sally Monaghan is undertaking a doctorate of
clinical psychology/master of science degree at the Alex Blaszczynski is a professor of psychology (School
of Psychology, University
of Sydney) and co-director of the
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