- Top Doctors experts explain the 5 psychological profiles behind lottery players: the adventurous, the friendly, the competitive, the strategist and the superstitious.
- People with bipolar disorder, OCD or compulsive gambling, the profiles most vulnerable to the extraordinary draw on December 22nd.
- Doctors make a psychological analysis of the reasons that make us buy lottery tickets compulsively
Barcelona, December 12, 2018.- December is the month of “anything goes”, in which consumption is justified under the umbrella of so-called social spending. Gifts, meals with colleagues, friends and family, decoration and clothing for each of the celebrations, solidarity actions and of course, lottery that have become one of the most important items of Christmas spending of families. Buying lottery tickets makes us feel good and envelops us in illusion, hope and collective joy.
But there is another important factor that can make ticket buying never end: preemptive envy and the demonstration of superiority. The experts at Top Doctors®, an online platform for finding and contacting the best medical specialists in private healthcare, audited and certified by the most rigorous doctor selection process in the world, explain what they consist of, as well as what are the most defined motives and profiles (and the most vulnerable) of lottery buyers this holiday season. “We make purchasing decisions from the emotional hemisphere of the brain. It doesn’t really matter if you are a winner or not on the 22nd, the dreams and desires that are generated until that day encourage our compulsive buying” explains Health Psychologist María Elvira Vague Cardona, member of Top Doctors.
The five psychological profiles behind the gamblers of chance
There are complex psychological processes behind each gamble such as emotions, motivations or attitudes among others. Psychotherapist and member of Top Doctors, Marisol Rodríguez Gutiérrez, reviews the main profiles of gamblers:
- The explorer and adventurer: likes to risk large amounts of money, without applying logic, and is not guided by superstitions. He has no limits to play and is not afraid to gamble.
- The competitive gambler: this is the person who plays only to win. For this profile of gambler, not obtaining the result he/she wished, means an important uneasiness.
- The strategist: chance does not enter into his plans. He plays looking for numerical combinations and using reason when betting, without leaving room for random formulas.
- The friend: enjoying the experience of the game is his premise. And although this player looks for the experience shared with family and friends, he usually feels preventive envy and, therefore, when playing the lottery he usually has in mind the thought “what if the others win”, betting for fear of being left out of the lottery.
- The superstitious: they resort to amulets, bet on a particular day, always play the same numbers, etc. All to prove that they are above luck. This type of gambler is influenced by traditions and by the education received. “Superstition is a particular case of a psychological phenomenon called “Illusion of Control”, which is the tendency to behave as if random events, such as games of chance, can be controlled,” says Maria Elvira Vague.
The profiles most vulnerable to the Christmas lottery
Human beings basically gamble for two reasons: for fun and to demonstrate their superiority. It is at this point that superstition appears as a way of trying to control and influence the course of events. As I am going to buy only one tenth… and if the lottery is played in the bar where I have breakfast every day… and if the number I played last year comes out… These are some of the thoughts that practically everyone has thought at some time when buying the Christmas lottery. However, the most vulnerable people, such as OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder) sufferers, are more susceptible to crises as the day approaches, as these superstitious thoughts become more acute. “They have very present the so-called ‘magical thinking’, that is, the repeated idea of turning the possible into the probable,” says Clinical Psychologist Silvia García Graullera, a member of Top Doctors.
People suffering from Bipolar Disorder should also be especially careful during the phases of euphoria and exaltation. “If the Christmas period coincides with moments of positivism, they can carry out an uncontrolled expenditure in lottery, since they can become convinced that they know the infallible method to win the lottery,” says Dr. Garcia. It is also a period in which there is a high percentage of relapses in patients with gambling addiction.
And what happens after December 22?
December 22nd arrives and we know if we have been winners or losers. “The winners are enveloped by a feeling of satisfaction, euphoria and joy, which become deeper 3 days after the draw, when they begin to come out of a state of derealization. It is advisable that they do not spread the result, and continue for a while their personal and professional life as it was until that moment”, explains Psychologist Héctor Galván, member of Top Doctors. “Likewise, it is important not to confuse illusion with intuition or premonition, nor to place in the possibility of winning the lottery the solution to all our problems and the motivation of our life, because otherwise feelings of frustration, regret and even anxiety will appear for not having won a prize”.