Implicit memory associations and video gaming.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to develop measures to assess implicit memory associations for video gaming and to examine the relationship between implicit memory associations, video gaming involvement, and problem video gaming. METHODS: A survey of online panelists from across Canada was conducted that included 166 problem video gamers who were recruited for participation in a larger study examining the relationship between gambling, video gaming, and collectible card play. Memory associations were assessed using a 10-item measures of word associations and behaviour associations. Video gaming involvement was assessed via self-report of time and frequency of play, and problem video gaming was assessed using the Behavioral Addiction Measure for Video Gaming (BAM-VG). RESULTS: Significant Kendall tau-b correlations ranging from 0.297 to 0.405 were found between measures of memory associations and both level of video gaming involvement and problem video gaming. CONCLUSIONS: There is a robust relationship between memory associations for video gaming with level of video gaming involvement and problem video gaming. The results suggest that implicit associations may have utility in the assessment of problem video gaming.

Implicit Memory Associations and Gambling.

Associations that people report in response to words or phrases ('implicit associations') may provide information about their interest and engagement in certain activities that might not have been reported if they had been directed asked. The present study investigated the word and behavioural associations reported by 494 university undergraduates to words and phrases that could be construed as having gambling-related connotations. These reported associations were then related to each student's level of gambling involvement and his or her problem gambling status. Results showed there to be a significant positive relationship between the number of gambling-related memory associations and reported level of gambling involvement as well as problem gambling status. Behaviour associations tended to be stronger than word associations, suggesting that each type of association may tap into a different facet of associative memory. Associations with problem gambling status were also stronger than associations with level of gambling involvement. The results suggest that implicit associations may have utility in both the assessment of problem gambling as well as predicting future gambling involvement.

The relationship between memory associations, gambling involvement, and problem gambling.

The current study aimed to examine the relationship between implicit memory associations, gambling involvement, and problem gambling in a large representative group of Canadian adults. The sample consisted of 3078 (48.1% males, mean age 43.93, SD = 15.82) adult online panelists from across Canada that included 388 problem and pathological gamblers. Memory associations were assessed using a 10-item measure of word associations and a 10-item measure of behavioural associations. Gambling involvement was assessed via self-report of involvement, and problem gambling was assessed using the Problem and Pathological Gambling Measure (PPGM). Significant associations were found between measures of memory associations and both level of gambling involvement and problem gambling, with the magnitude of the correlations ranging from 0.262 to 0.388. Behavioural associations tended to have a stronger relationship with gambling involvement and problem gambling than word associations. The results of this study suggest that implicit associations may have utility in the assessment of problem gambling.