Gambling, the hero journey and an infinite landscape of future possibilities.

In the realm of psychology, there exists a narrative archetype that has transcended cultures and epochs—the hero's journey. This timeless narrative not only captivates our imaginations but also resonates deeply within our own lives, reflecting our inherent desire for growth, transformation, and the conquest of challenges. In the second part of this article, we embark on a journey that explores the convergence of this hero's odyssey with an unexpected and often perplexing terrain—gambling.

We have seen in the previous article that through intermittent partial reinforcement combined with a novelty indicator that moves your perception from “maybe” to “almost” the devices are falsely indicating that  you are enhancing your mastery over the game. There is a hero element that is emerging there, because the hero in mythology is the person who goes into unknown territory and masters it. And not only is he mastering it, but also gains what is there and then distributes it reciprocally, often to the benefit of the community, thus becoming a broad symbol character. That’s the whole hero mythology essentially.

Now, let's delve into the intriguing connection between this age-old narrative and the contemporary world of gambling. At first glance, the two might seem worlds apart, but beneath the surface, there's a striking parallel. It's a connection that hinges on this elusive neurochemical that is dopamine.

Consider the allure of a casino or the thrill of placing a bet. In these moments, you step into an adventure where uncertainty reigns supreme. Every roll of the dice, every spin of the wheel is a step into the unknown, a page in our personal hero's journey. And with each step, dopamine surges, enhancing your sense of anticipation and excitement.

The dopamine system kicks in, in part as a consequence of predictability, and it shows that you know what you’re doing, when you’re in a place that is going to give rewards. So you’re in a garden that is fruitful, but is even better if there is an intermittent element of the reinforcement because it shows you that there is fruit there that you have left to discover and if you go down that pathway you are going to be hypermotivated to keep going. You want to be in that garden, you want where the possibility of more fruit beckons and where that possibility is dependant on the you skills and daring of your actions.

It is normal that in the path of the hero you will encounter setbacks, losses and moments of despair. You press the lever 10 times and you don’t get the expected reward. And what the dopamine system is about is then saying “I’m going to press the lever twice as much, ten times as much. Moreover, I’m going to cross my toes, I’m going to wear my lucky socks and underwear, I’m going to engage in whatever ritualistic behaviour because I am willing to come back and try even harder. And then your surmount your set back and that is your path of the hero. That’s what dopamine is doing there. That’s why you don’t give up at the first setback and that’s why ultimately, getting a reward that is predictable every time you press the level would get boring after a while. It shows that is nothing left to discover.

Sticking it out, gives the illusion of getting more mastery and eventually almost becomes definite. But if you’re also set up so that your sense of self  becomes more solidified because you are sticking with it that adds a whole other layer in the mix. The happiness of pursuit, of being the one who does not give up and continues to search.

If you are not on the true adventure of your life, on the track optimizing the firing of those exploratory and playful dopaminergic circuits, which would be signalled by optimal dopaminergic function, then you are going to look everywhere for all sorts of false adventures. And some of those false adventures are going to be addictive or pathological.

Understanding this intricate dance between dopamine and gambling may hold the key to helping those who find themselves ensnared in the complex world of gambling. Support can take many forms, but it most definitely must include education around the high addictive risk of certain gambling products, strategies to modulate dopamine levels and rewire the brain’s reward circuitry and strategies to build a meaningful journey that is worth pursuing.